The Gems of Sinnoh
by Hollywing
Summary: Galactic will rule, diamond and pearl will unite, and all gems must become one.... Dawn, Ash and Paul have to work together to defeat Team Galactic on the rise, but with weakness from the inside and a terrifying new prophecy, can they? Ikarishipping.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

The fallen leaves rustled on the moonlit floor as a young man walked through the woods. He was about twenty years old, and his red hair was unusually long. He adjusted his yellow hard hat, sat on a flat rock and let out a deep sigh.

"It's been a long time," Roark muttered.

Three years since Elite Four Aaron was shot dead.

Three years since Maylene was permanently paralyzed.

Three years since Team Galactic took over, only too fall to the hands of a rookie co-ordinator: Dawn.

He could hardly believe it himself, that a beginning trainer could defeat Pokemon gods rumored to have created the universe. Then again, she had the help of the god of emotion, Mesprit.

Roark stared up at the moon, full and bright, with the stars blinking around it. He remembered so many people…Ash…Dawn…Paul…Brock…Gardenia…and of course, Cynthia.

Arg…Up to now, his father still treated him like a child. Riley was younger, but got treated better, even. And he was twenty years old and engaged, too!

When Team Galactic conquered Sinnoh, everyone pitched in to help, even people from other regions: Misty, May, Max, Brock's 9 siblings, Casey, Gary, Marina, Jimmy, even Team Rocket.

He wondered what everyone was doing now. Ash had gone into the Pokemon League recently with Paul, Jimmy and Kohei, and Dawn was going to enter the Grand Festival. Along with Zoey, May and Marina (Quote May: "I hope that evil nasty gay guy in green doesn't show up…").

He looked at his surroundings one last time. He loved coming here when he was a child. It was so beautiful at night. The trees glowed silver and the grass glittered with dew. He knew nothing about poetry, but he was sure this was it.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard a clock's chime; it was eleven already? That was his curfew time, but his father must be worried by now (Again…why did his father treat him like a baby?)

But as he got up to leave, two strong hands grabbed his neck and slipped a piece of rope around it!

"What the-" The rope pulled, and his flailing body was lifted off the ground. He kicked his legs frantically and grasped the rope around his neck, but it was too late.

"You!!" he screamed, "who are you?" He shouted at the figure standing below him. Suddenly he felt a burning sensation in his chest, as his lungs begged for air and intense pain engulfed his body.

"Huh, funny you should ask, Roark," the shadowy figure sneered," I think we've met before." The person pulled off the hood, and Roark's eyes widened in surprise. Could it be? He thought this person was finished for good!

The unknown grunt cut the rope, and the Oreburgh Gym Leader fell to the floor, dead.

Hunter J walked away from the scene, smirking, her job done.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 1

"_Actually, you've doomed us all."-Bart Simpson._

Cynthia's eyes widened as she looked at the news on T.V. She was amazed, and couldn't believe her eyes or her ears as she listened attentively to what the reporter had to say.

"_This is a breaking news story…a body has been found in Route #207…has a twisted neck and a rope around it…believed to have been suicide of hanging himself…identified as Roark, Leader of the Oreburgh Gym."_

Her face paled as she stared at the screen, even when it went back to the cooking show she had been watching earlier. Suddenly she got up and started to pace. Why would Roark be so damn stupid to hang himself?

Anger? Depression? Stress? Different thoughts raced through her mind as she tore through her blond hair. She knew, in her mind, that this was not suicide.

"First Aaron, then Maylene, now Roark…what more can happen in three years?" she whispered, panicking. She pulled off one of her black gloves and examined the ugly scars stretched all over her left hand. A Tem Galactic grunt had poured acid on it while she was trying to protect Maylene.

Oh, no…she could only imagine what Byron would say upon hearing of his only son's death. Volkner and Candice wouldn't be too happy either. Gardenia…oh, poor, poor Gardenia was Roark's new fiancé. She'd be heartbroken.

Cynthia worried the most about Dawn. She knew Cyrus, and he was not the type of man who went down and stayed down.

Wow…her mind meditated on all the deaths that had been taking place. Why so many? Was Team Galactic back and plotting revenge?

Well, if that was the case, Dawn had better watch her back.

"Man, I can't wait to battle Macey!!" Ash hollered in a hyper Pikachu's ear.

Dawn watched in amusement as her friend Ash jumped up and down the battle field. It was finally here, what he had been waiting so long for: The Sinnoh League. Now it was the second-to-last round, and he had a tough battle with his old Hoenn friend, Morrison. All he needed to do was defeat Macey, a rival from Johto, and it was on to the finals for Ash.

But they were waiting forever for her to turn up!

"What a pathetic loser…" Paul muttered from next to her. Darkrai knows how anyone can put up with him and not go nuts. Apparently he thought the same of her, too.

"Ha," she teased, "you're just grumpy because Kohei beat you."

He faced her with fury clear in his eyes. He didn't like Kohei; not one bit.

"Look," he seethed, while she giggled, "you mention that demon one more time and I…"

"Who wants popcorn?" Zoey interrupted. Misty, a born popcorn lover, pushed and shoved everyone out of their seats to get a handful.

"Fo, ary firj o mufee ref?" Misty asked, popcorn spilling out of her mouth.

"What?"

Misty swallowed her popcorn. "I said,: any sign of Macey yet?"

Dawn shook her head. "Not yet."

Casey pointed over to the stands. "But hey, look! Someone's coming!!"

Casey was right. Macey was coming out at last.

Only it wasn't Macey.

It was Morrison.

Dawn suddenly felt Paul tense.

"This doesn't look good…" he whispered.

Morrison patted the crying Vulpix on his shoulder. He then drew in a shaky breath and began to speak.

"Macey cannot attend this battle, or this tournament. Not any tournament for that matter…not now, not ever…"

Ash stood rigid and pale. All of a sudden, Officer Jenny spoke up. "Why not? What happened?" she demanded.

"Because…because…" Morrison stammered.

"Speak up!" someone from the crowd shouted angrily.

"Because…" Morrison took a deep breath and shouted:

"Macey is dead!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks you guys for the reviews!!**

**I forgot to do a disclaimer, I'll do it now-**

**DISCLAIMER-HOLLYWING DOES NOT OWN POKEMON(if there was you'd see a lot more Ikarishipping, believe me)**

**Alrigt then, on with the story!**

_"Don't worry 'bout a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be all right." – Bob Marley_

"Macey is dead!"

The crowd hushed, and the entire stadium was silent for a moment. Then shocked cries

erupted from them as they whispered anxiously to each other.

Dawn, Zoey and Paul exchanged frightened looks.

Misty choked on her popcorn, and Gary took the bucket off his head with a blank but pale look on his face.

Higher in the stands, Delia Ketchum let out a faint moan and fainted in Prof. Oak's arms. He blushed and glanced from left to right, not knowing what to do with the unconscious woman. Casey took off her Electabuzz hat and slowly placed it to her chest.

Ash felt dizzy. D-dead? No...not dead...not dead...

Coming out of her shock, Officer Jenny spoke up above the crowd's murmurs. "How did this happen?" she demanded.

Morrison shivered slightly, and continued.

" W-well, I n-noticed that Macey wasn't c-coming out to the field, s-so I went up to her room t-t-to see if she was okay, b-b-but Macey..." he was too scared of what he saw to continue.

The police officers questioned Morrison and examined Macey's room. Dawn caught a glimpse of them carrying out her body; it was chopped up and smeared with blood. She quickly turned her head away: no wonder Morrison was so scared.

"H-hey! Dawn! Wait up!" Zoey called out, still shaky from the whole incident.

Dawn's mind was full. Who was the next to go down? Would it be Ash or Brock? Or could it be Zoey? What if...what if it was Paul? She shuddered at the thought of an evil-looking, red-eyed figure strutting away gleefully from his bloody, tattered body.

"But Officer Jenny, what about the tournament?"

"I'm sorry, Sara, but it will have to be cancelled until we get to the bottom of this."

Dawn turned her head swiftly toward a pleading voice at the stands.

A girl about Ash's age stood there with her hands on her hips. She wore an orange tube top with a Rayquaza design and decorated with flames. She also had on jeans with a starry design, a backwards red cap and spiky black gloves. The Espeon next to her wore a blue burette on its tail. The girl, Sara, shook her bushy brown hair in frustration.

"But Jen..."

"No, Sara. The show can't go on this time." Jenny walked away, ignoring whatever protests she had to say. Sara bowed her head, defeated.

Dawn and Zoey exchanged glances and ran over to the girl.

"Hey, what was that all about?"

Sara turned to her with a distressed look. "I'm one of the finalists. I was supposed to be facing either Macey or that Ketchum dude, but now poor Macey's gone and I wasted a year of working my butt off." Sara's face fell suddenly. "But I guess I shouldn't be talking about Macey like that, should I?"

"Yea," Zoey said. "Poor Macey…"

Dawn felt tears in her eyes at Macey's mention. She remembered Aaron and Roark…

"Dawn?" Zoey asked. "Are you okay?"

She turned to her with her eyes pools of distress.

"Why are these things happening?" she moaned.

_Dawn looked around in confusion. She had just awakened to find herself in the middle of Eterna Forest…wearing her contest dress._

_"Hello? Ash? Zoey? Anybody??" she called out as she dashed through the thick woods. Her feet were bare, and hurt badly from the hard pebbles, twigs and pieces of trash strewn across the ground. All of a sudden, a Murkrow cawed nearby, and she screamed in fear and surprise. A branch, wet from the rain, shook in the wind and a cascade of water droplets fell on the poor girl. She slipped and fell into a puddle of mud, and she let out a soft moan._

_"Uhhhhh….." Rocks and sharp blades of grass cut her milky white skin. She was dirty and muddy, and her hair was now an ugly blue mop on her head. She stated to sob; she was all alone here._

_"Anybody…?"_

_"Nobody's here."_

_That voice…she thought she'd never hear that again._

_She whirled around in bewilderment, and her eyes became sapphire spheres of shock when she saw the starry figure standing on a mossy rock._

_"R-Roark?" she stammered. She couldn't believe her eyes. He was dead!_

_"Come closer, Dawn," he whispered. "I have something to tell you."_

_Shivering with awe, Dawn came up close to the Moss Rock._

_"I'm listening."_

_"There's going to be a lot of trouble."_

_She looked at him, fear in her eyes. "But…what trouble? What's gonna happen?"_

_He took a deep breath and spoke in a mystical voice:_

_"Darkness and death will be forced to overcome the power of the full moon. Diamond and pearl must unite in battle when all gems become one and shine brighter than blood."_

_"WHAT???" Dawn screeched. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"_

_"It will all be made clear in time," he said, his voice strangely echoing as though he was in a wide cave. His shape began to fade, and the starlight around him began to grow dim._

_"W-wait! Don't go!"_

_"I have to go, I promised Ash I'd help him train. What are you talking about Dawn?"_

Dawn's eyes shot open. Brock stood over her, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Is everything all right, Dawn?" he asked, bemused. "Do you want me to tell Ash that I can't come?"

"No…no, I'm all right, Brock," she said, and he left, shaking his head.

What did that prophecy mean? Darkness and death…that could be bad. Diamond and pearl must unite…Cynthia might know…all gems will become one? What did that mean?

Whatever the prophecy meant, it was not good.

Paul tossed and turned in his sleep, as his nightmare grew worse.

_----Flashback----_

_"Mom! Dad! Where are you?" A seven-year old Paul ran through the fleeing crowd, looking for his parents with only a baby Turtwig by his side. The ground in Veilstone City was red, stained with blood now, and flames were everywhere from Team Galactic's bomb. When that bomb hit, although his house was destroyed along with all possessions, he and his family were safe, but he got separated from them and got lost in the many people who were rushing about._

_"Turt! " Turtwig struggled to keep up, and dodged the flurry of feet. It already had a few bruises from where it had been kicked._

_"Mom!" he cried out, "Dad..." He suddenly looked down and stopped dead in his tracks._

_Tears rolled down his cheeks. He'd been looking for an hour. Now the city was a rocky mess, he was completely lost, and now he was looking down on two bent bodies that were originally his parents. He was an orphan._

_A firefighter saw him and took his hand. "Come on, you'd better come with me."_

_He instinctively tried to pull away, but common sense won when he realized that there was no hope for him if he stayed. Turtwig just walked obediently by his side._

_"What about my brother?" he asked, trembling._

_"Your brother's fine. We've found him, now let's go."_

_As the city burned, Paul threw one last look at his parents and with a burst of anger and hatred, vowed to kill Cyrus one day._

_----End of Flashback----_

Paul woke with a start. He shook a sweaty strand of lavender-gray hair out of his face and lay back in bed.

His face, sheet and pillow were all wet, but not from sweat. Tears were still streaming down his face.

He realized that for the first time in years, he was crying.

**Awwww...poor Paulie...I added the brother thing last minute(because I just found out he had one. When I found out I was just like :"...WTF..."**

**Review!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, all!!! Okay, new chap!!!**

**And the shippings are:**

**IKARISHIPPING**

**CONTESTSHIPPING**

**POKESIPPING**

**DISCLAIMER:HOLLYWING DOES NOT OWN POKEMON. **

* * *

CHAPTER 3  
_"I like fishy crackers!!"-Cheese_

**Zoey's P.O.V.**

"Glameow, use Shadow Claw!"  
My Glameow landed on its curly tail with a satisfied purr. We had been training since five o' clock in the morning, and now it was eight. Everyone was awake of course…but Dawn and Paul were still asleep. The lazy lumps.  
Suddenly I spotted them a little way away. They looked as if they both saw a ghost.  
"Hey!" I yelled, "What's wrong?"  
"Bad dream," they replied in unison, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.  
I ran a hand through my red hair. What had happened in that dream? They looked really shaken up.  
Brock called out to them from behind me. "I know what'll cheer you guys up," he said, wearing a frilly pink apron, "I'm making blueberry pancakes. Of course, I could always give them to Ash if you don't want it."  
The lively glimmer returned to Dawn's crystal blue eyes as she shouted, "Ash, keep your grubby paws off my pancakes!!"  
Paul just smirked and muttered, "Troublesome girl," and followed her.  
"Behold the power of the pancakes. They are thou selves again." Casey teased.  
I didn't really care about the stupid pancake comeback. What had Dawn been dreaming about?

Misty Waterflower played around with Azurill, with a certain raven-haired boy on her mind. He was on her mind nearly all the time now.  
She had loved Ash since eight years ago, when he…er…stole her bike and deep fried it. Not the best beginning to a fluffy romance book, but it was the journey with him through Kanto and Johto that set her heart on fire.  
"Misty?!" a squeaky voice exclaimed, "Is that really you?"  
Misty turned around in confusion, and her aqua eyes widened in shock as they met a pair of blue ones.  
"Richie?"

"NURSE JOY!!!" Brock Harrison began running as if in a dream towards a very scared, red haired nurse, whose permanent smile quickly dissolved. And Brock…  
Would have made it if it weren't for his trusty Croagunk jabbing his side.  
"Croaoaoa…." Croagunk chuckled as it dragged away a depressed Brock, leaving six trainers sweat dropping nervously.  
"Er…does this happen often?" Paul asked.  
"Yes!" Ash sighed.  
Dawn suddenly spotted a stack of flyers on Nurse Joy's counter. "Hm? What's this?" Her eyes widened as she read the flyer.  
"Oh my Arceus, guys, look! It's a contest!"  
"A contest?" Zoey asked, snatching the flyer away from her. "One month before the Grand Festival? Nuh-uh. No way we can manage this."  
Dawn shrugged. "A contest is a contest, Zoey," she took the flyer back and held it up. "Can you not resist?" she teased.  
Zoey put her hands on her hips. "Why enter? We already have five ribbons," she pointed out, "and we have to train."  
"And what better training than a real contest?" Dawn clasped her hands in a pleading gesture. "Please, Zoey? You can enter too. Please?"  
There was a flash of defiance in Zoey's brown eyes, but also a hint of hunger too as she gazed at the flyer. Zoey wanted to enter, she couldn't deny it.  
"Alright," she finally said, "Let's do it."

"Misty! It is you!" Richie said with delight.  
"Yeah but…what are you doing here?"  
"I came to see the contest. My sister's entering."  
Misty looked puzzled. "Contest? SISTER??"  
"Oh…" Richie dipped his head. "There's a contest coming up tomorrow before the Grand Festival, and anyone can enter. My sister challenges the Gyms, but she's trying out a contest, just for kicks." He paused. "So where's Ash?"  
Misty thought for a while. Ash and the others would be at the Pokemon center.  
"Just follow me," she said, and made way toward the Pokemon center, Sparky the Pikachu trailing behind.

* * *

**Okay,it was boring, you guys are screaming at me, but still,it's filling a gap:D  
**


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

CHAPTER 5  
_"Why walk when you can climb?"-Richie Hiroshi_

"No…help them…" Paul muttered in his sleep.  
_He was in the middle of some sort of crushed arena. A dreadful noise burst out and he  
tensed…it was the terrified screams of many people and pokemon, along with several  
gunshots. Soon the smooth floor of the arena was splattered in blood, light gray against the red. He just stood rooted to the spot in sheer horror as he watched everyone die. Macey stood next to him, watching what was happening.  
Paul turned to her. "What's happening? Why can't you help them? Why can't you save them?"  
Macey's eyes were brimming with sorrow. "There is nothing we can do…I'm sorry," she said. "It is all up to you."  
He stood there, wondering what she meant by 'It is all up to you', when a cry of anger and agony rang through the air, setting his hair on end.  
Dawn!_  
"Paul! Get up, you lazy butthead!"  
He blinked and found himself staring straight up at Dawn, but she wasn't in fear like in his dream; more like annoyed.  
"You fell asleep," she explained in a sharp tone. "Was my appeal that boring?"  
It all came back to him now. Dawn had asked him to judge her appeal for an upcoming contest, but he soon got drowsy from the heat and fell asleep.  
"Sorry," he murmured, "can you…um…do it again?"  
Piplup and Buneary both grimaced; Paul suspected it was difficult to do the appeal perfectly.  
Dawn put on a tired look. "Fine," she muttered, "but don't take a nap this time."  
Paul watched her appeal, and tried to think of that instead of the horrible vision he just had.  
…Vision?  
Did that mean that the gory moment was one from the future?

"Piplup use Whirlpool!"  
"Pip…lup!" Piplup glowed as it shot a twister of water out of its beak. Paul was strangely impressed; she had gotten a lot stronger.  
"Now Buneary, use Ice Beam!"  
A freezing blue ray hit the whirlpool and froze it to the ground, and the two skated around on the big ice cone, Piplup using Bubblebeam in the air and Buneary using Swift.  
"Yes! Yes!" Dawn cried, "That's beautiful! Keep it up!"  
Suddenly a voice rang out from behind her, "Hmmm… guess I'll have to work harder on my appeal, if I wanna beat you, Dawn."  
Dawn turned swiftly around and Paul raised his head. Her eyes widened.  
"Sara!"  
"Yup, it's me," Sara strode over to her, with Espeon and a Furret. "So are you entering with a Piplup and a Buneary? They do look pretty strong."  
"Eheheheh…" Dawn blushed, flattered. "Are you entering?"  
Sara looked down at her Espeon and Furret. "Jewel's a good hand with Psychic, and Laura knows some moves that normal Furrets wouldn't know, so I think we might have a chance."  
"Jewel and Laura…nicknames…" Dawn pondered on them as she pulled out her Pokedex to look up Laura's species:  
"Furret: The Long Body Pokemon and the evolved form of Sentret. The mother puts offspring to sleep by curling up around them. It corners foes with speed."  
"Dawn observed Laura's long, slender body. She wondered, though, how it could be so fast on such short legs. "It's so cute!"  
Sara's eyes turned and gestured towards Paul. "Hey! You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend!"  
Paul, hearing this, coughed loudly. Boyfriend?  
Piplup and Buneary laughed so hard that it hurt. Paul? Dawn's boyfriend? It was hilarious!  
Dawn's blue eyes became large circles as her face turned a deep shade of red. "B-b-boyfriend?" she stammered. "No way! Paul is NOT my boyfriend!"  
Sara smirked. "Riiiight…"  
Paul narrowed his eyes at her, then turned to Dawn. "You know, we should be heading back now."  
Dawn nodded. "Yeah. Hey, Sara, do you want to come with us?"

"Richie!"  
Ash proceeded to crush his friend from Kanto in a heartwarming hug.  
"Nice to gak see you too," Richie managed to cough up a sentence, but Ash was practically squeezing the air out of him.  
"Ash! You're crushing that boy to death!" Dawn said in mock despair.  
Dawn and Paul appeared through the door, Sara following. Gary's mouth nearly dropped at Sara. Man, she was hot! No…don't think that…a voice said in his head. DO NOT THINK BAD THINGS…  
"Oh, Dawn, Paul, this is Richie. Richie…" Ash trailed off, seeing that his attention was elsewhere.  
Richie's eyes were glued on Sara, and Sara stared back at him.  
Suddenly she let out a high pitched squeal and embraced him affectionately as he hugged her back.  
For a heartbeat, Gary felt jealous fury sweep through him…when she actually kissed him on the cheek!  
Richie, sensing the shock in everyone, turned to them. "Everyone, this is my sister, Sara!"  
That made everyone even more shocked! Gary was suddenly feeling relieved…wait, why did it matter that Sara was his sister and not his girlfriend?  
"Wait…SHE'S your sister?" Misty exclaimed.  
"You have a sister?" Ash asked.  
"Yeah and yeah." He let out an awkward chuckle, half amused, half embarrassed. "Hard to believe, isn't it? After all, we look nothing alike."

Paul, being the anti-social type, stayed away and didn't say a word when suddenly a menacing voice said in his head:  
_"Darkness and death shall be forced to overcome the power of the full moon. Diamond and pearl must unite in battle when all gems become one and shine brighter than blood."_  
The voice ended, and Paul clutched his head as if he had a bad headache.  
What was that?

* * *

**Next chapter has the contest!!A lot of new characters there...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay so here's the next chappy! I haven't added any in a long time, and I was writing Supernatural so...**

**How many times do I have to say that I don't own Pokemon? Just asking.**

* * *

CHAPTER 5

"Wow, this place looks huge!" Dawn cried out.

Everyone gazed in awe at the enormous size of the Ribbon Syndicate. Recently, they found out that the contest that Dawn and Sara wanted to enter was an annual contest held.

"No wonder it was so close to the Grand Festival!" Zoey had said.

"This is a pretty high class place," Sara remarked once they were inside, and had already signed up. "For a normal contest, this place looks better than the Grand Festival arena!"

"I know," Dawn sighed. "It's all about Ribbons! I could live here!"

"Zoey giggled. "You've got that right, Dawn." Suddenly an annoyed voice rang out.

"DREW!! What do you mean, I look fat?"

"Please…you look like a Snorlax who went to four buffets in a row."

Zoey, Dawn and Sara turned around and caught sight of a brunette, dressed entirely in red, yelling at a handsome green haired boy. Sara cocked her head in confusion.

"Hey! I know those guys! They were on Coordinators Xtra magazine!"

The brunette wore an angry face, as she glared angrily at the boy, who didn't look like he cared one bit. It reminded Dawn of that time in Oreburgh City when Paul couldn't remember her name. She wondered if he still remembered. Hmm…probably not.

"MAY??" Dawn jumped in surprise as a voice rang out behind her.

Ash stood a distance away, gazing at the quarreling couple with wide eyes. The brunette froze.

"Ash!" May cried out in surprise, and the green haired boy had a sour expression. She ran over to him in joy and hugged him tightly. "I haven't seen you in such a long time!"

She bent down and stroked Pikachu lovingly. "Hey, Pikachu."

"Hey, I thought I heard…" Brock came into the room, and stopped dead in surprise. "May! It was you!"

"Brock! You're here too?" May embraced him, a little more gently, with glowing eyes. "I missed you guys so much. What are you doing here?"

Ash smiled. "We missed you too." His eyes flashed, as though his words meant more than it seemed. "Some of our friends wanted to participate in the contest here. Come over here and meet May and Drew, guys!" he said to the three girls, who were as confused as ever.

Dawn shook hands (she knew it was incredibly nerdy) with Drew and May shyly. Zoey just came out with a simple hello, and Sara didn't speak at all; she just nodded curtly.

"So," May said mischievously, "have you guys heard about the contest ball?"

"A ball? Like a basketball?" Ash asked, and Drew snorted impatiently.

"No, idiot," he smirked, knowing how clueless Ash was, "a ball as in a dance."

Dawn froze. A dance? Huh? The flyer didn't say anything about a dance!

"A dance? Well, that's a waste of time," Sara said.

Zoey narrowed her eyes slyly. "What? Are you giving up a chance to dance with the boy of your dreams?"

Sara glared at her. "I have no interest whatsoever in men. They're all the same; all idiots."

"Hey!" Brock, Ash and Drew yelled in unison, while Sara smirked and Dawn and Zoey laughed.

This was going to be a long, long time here.

* * *

"Maylene?" Mira opened the hospital room door, and found the Veilstone Gym Leader lying there on the bed.

"Oh…Mira? Is that you? Come here."

Mira stepped closer to the paralyzed, pink haired girl and trembled. She wondered what it was like to be stuck in a hospital room for 3 years straight, with nothing to do but read boring newspapers and listen to nothing but nurses' childbirth stories.

"Hey, Maylene, how are you?" she asked shyly.

Maylene glanced at her Lucario, who was snoozing in a corner, and looked back at Mira, smiling. "Fine."

A huge grin swept over Mira's face, anticipating the excitement of whatever she was about to say. "Guess what?"

"What?"

Mira stood on her toes. "I got into the Battle Tower finals!"

The Gym Leader raised her eyebrows. "Wow, really?" she closed her eyes. "That's great."

Maylene was incredibly weak after surgery after surgery; her family was nearly bankrupt after spending so much money to heal Maylene's paralysis. Yet in the end, it was all in vain, and the poor girl got even weaker.

Mira knew she was getting worse. Every time she looked at one of the nurses, they cast their heads down, not willing to meet her gaze. Maylene was closing her eyes for longer and longer moments now, and she noticed there were three more beeping monitors in the room today.

"I mean…you will be able to come to the finals, right?"

Maylene met her gaze with pink eyes filled with regret. "I'm sorry; I can't."

"WHAT?!" Mira practically screeched, her eyes starting to fill with tears. "But…but…b-b-but you promised!"

"I'm sorry…I can't go anywhere. It's…my time now."

Lucario was awake by now, from Mira's cries, and just stood frozen there in shock.

"No!" Mira's eyes widened in horror. "Don't say that!"

"I'm so, so sorry…" Maylene stiffened all of a sudden, and looked up to the ceiling with a mystified expression. "…Mother? Is that you? I'm ready."

"No…No! Maylene!" Mira shouted, once she realized what was happening. "SISTER!! Don't die!" It was too soon, all too soon!

"I'll see you in about 80 years, my dear sister." The Fighting type Gym Leader shuddered once, and then she was still and did not move again.

Mira murmured her name, but it was too late. Maylene was dead.

Mira felt no pain, strangely, but her cheeks were wet, and taking a deep breath, she looked at Lucario, whose eyes became puffy, and she forced herself to turn away.

She felt as if she was going to be sick, and she didn't want to do it in the hospital.

However, as soon as the automatic doors closed behind her, and she was outside, she burst into a fit of crying and gazed up at the sky.

Oh, Giratina, why did you have to take her already?

* * *

_Next day..._

"Dawn! Wait up!" Zoey called out, trying to keep up with her, as well as May, Sara and Drew. Dawn gave no efforts to slow down, leaving poor Piplup struggling to keep up. She was so excited about the contest that she was basically bouncing up and down in the middle of the night (much to Paul's annoyance) and now she was sprinting down the hallways, dodging everything in the way. She even nearly knocked down an old lady.

"Sorry!" she panted, nearly flattening a coordinator and his Numel. She had to get down to the contest arena, but the Ribbon Syndicate had so many rooms that all looked the same, and the whole place was a maze of corridors.

Dawn wore a pink frilly dress with a star design, May wore a siren red slip dress decorated with sapphire rhinestones, Zoey wore a silky olive green cargo skirt and black shirt, and Sara wore a white halter dress. They had spent hours in front of the mirror fixing their makeup and hair. As consequence, they were late. Very, very late.

"Good morning, Resort Area! Welcome to the annual Belle Championnat contest of the Ribbon Syndicate!" Marian's voice rang out from the loudspeakers.

"We're going to be late!" May whined like a child, causing Drew to smirk.

"Re-lax, May," Drew said, "there are a lot of coordinators ahead of us, so we wouldn't have to rush. Even the most idiotic of people would have known that."

May growled angrily and looked as if she were about to say something, but snapped her mouth shut and just scowled in fury.

"No time to fight, guys," Sara called out, Jewel racing by her feet.

Soon a crowded room came into sight; it was beautifully decorated all over with balloons, streamers, and large ribbons of all the colors of the rainbow, and the room was filled with about a hundred coordinators with their Pokemon, all watching the appeals on T.V.

"Ohhh…look at how much people here! It's going to take forever to get our turn of appeals!" Dawn cried out, alarmed at the amount of trainers lined up.

"You see; this is what happens when you take three hours to keep down a strand of your hair!" Sara yelled in annoyance.

"Oh, please!" May frowned, "you would be looking like a tramp if we didn't…"

"Drag me to the bathroom, strip me down and nearly choke me trying to put on this dress?" Sara supplied, still annoyed.

May kept quiet this time.

"Oh, stop bickering, you two," Zoey scowled, trying to watch the appeals on the television screen. "You know, you might as well watch and learn something, instead of fighting."

Dawn figured she was right. She tried to calm herself, paying close attention to a blue-haired trainer's Feraligator…

* * *

Cynthia ran as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring all the usual "Hey, it's Cynthias" she got. She needed to get to Resort Area. Fast.

She needed to warn Dawn and Paul of the upcoming danger they were in. Team Galactic knew where they were now…and they were already on the way there. She was so foolish for misjudging Cyrus. She should have seen this coming.

She only had time to take up her Garchomp and Milotic and rush out of her house, leaving a note saying where she had gone.

She hastily brushed freezing crystals out of her eyes as she flew across the snow, hurrying to catch the boat at Snowpoint City. People scuttled out of her way, not willing to get knocked down. If she could only get there on time…

The boat to Battle Area came into view, and she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. She was going to make it.

However, she was not happy for long.

"What do you mean I can't get on the boat?" she roared at the now frightened sailor, enraged.

The sailor managed to keep a calm expression and said, "Sorry, ma'am, but the boat's ready to leave. We'll be back by sunset."

"SUNSET?! I need to get to the Resort Area NOW!!"

"Ma'am, the passengers are waiting to leave."

"LISTEN, YOU…"

"What's all this noise?" a cheerful voice said from behind her.

Cynthia whirled around in surprise to meet the warm blue eyes of Candice, the Ice Gym Leader, who was standing there holding her pregnant stomach.

Candice stepped up to the sailor. "Is something wrong, Sam?"

Sam shook his head. "The boat's about to leave, but this lady insists that she must get on the boat now."

Candice blinked at him. "I hope you have a safe trip, Cynthia," she murmured, making sure that the sailor heard her. Sam the sailor looked bewildered at Candice's response.

"What?" he scratched his head, confused and surprised, before saluting to the two girls. "Of course…right this way, ma'am."

Before leaving, Cynthia whispered to Candice, "Thank you so much. And tell Volkner I said hi."

Staring out into the horizon, Cynthia thought of Dawn. She was the one Team Galactic was after…and she needed to protect her at all costs.

* * *

"LEAFGREEN, SARA," The monitor called out; it was Sara's turn to appeal.

"Guess I'm up!!" Sara said to the others, her eyes flashing. "See ya!"

"Hey, look, there's Sara!" Ash murmured to Richie.

Richie's teal eyes were glued to the stage. Knowing Sara, she would be attempting something unique and extraordinary, which made him all the more excited to see her appeal.

"And now, here's Sara Leafgreen from Pallet Town with her Espeon and Furret!" Marian called out as the audience clapped.

Gary, hearing this, turned to Richie in surprise. "Huh? How come you two live in two different places and have different names if you're both siblings?"

Richie shrugged. "Our parents divorced, and our Sara lived with our mom. Then our mom got married." Gary mouthed a silent "Oh" as he turned back to the stage.

Richie felt himself smiling as he looked at his sister's carefree expression. She was always a stronger trainer than he-or anybody-was, so why worry about her?

"Trust me, Ash," he whispered to his friend, "This will be good."

"I hope I can do this," Sara whispered under her breath. "Alright; JEWEL, SWIFT! LAURA, THUNDERBOLT! You're in charge, guys!"

**I got a lot to say to you  
Yeah, I got a lot to say**

The Espeon shot out of her Pokeball, in a shower of glowing pink hearts, plus the shining golden stars from the Swift; Laura burst out in a cyclone of bubbles, blue fire and crackling electric rays. The crowd roared as they took the stage.

**I noticed your eyes are always glued to me  
keeping them here;  
and it makes no sense at all**

"Laura, use Surf, now!" Sara called out, and two seconds later, Laura landed smack in the way of a bubbling wall of water. Jewel just stood there, waiting to come in the act.

_She's crazy! _Gary thought, seeing her put her Pokemon right in the way of danger…she couldn't let them get hit by the Surf!

**They taped over your mouth,  
Scribbled out the truth with their lies  
You little spies….**

Sensing the shock, fear and disbelief in the spectators, Sara smirked knowingly.

"Ice Beam," she called, pointing calmly at the tidal wave.

**They taped over your mouth  
Scribbled out the truth with their lies  
You little spies**

"Furrrrr…ETTTT!!" Laura screamed as a freezing blue ray shot out of its mouth and froze the wave solid, leaving only a shimmering curve of ice. The crowd gasped in surprise, but Richie smiled proudly.

**Crush  
Crush  
Crush  
Crush, crush  
(Two, three, four!)**

Sara nodded to Jewel. "Your turn! Dig!"

Jewel burrowed its way underground, coming out in various spots and leaving holes in the ground. This left the crowd slightly confused.

What's she up to now? Gary thought.

**Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone  
Just the one two of us who's counting on  
that never happens  
I guess I'm dreaming again  
Let's be more than this**

"Let's do this!" she yelled, thrusting her slender hands in the air, "PSYBEAM!! DO IT!!"

All of a sudden, rainbow, gleaming rays burst out of the ground, adding a colorful light everywhere, and made the curve of crystallized water even more dazzling.

**Oh hoooh, oh,**

**Ooooohhhh, ooohh…..**

Laura slid down the top of the glittery wave, and landed on the left of Sara while Jewel landed on the right. They ended the appeal with a flip and a dainty bow, and it was over.

As soon as Sara's head rose from the bow, she nearly got deafened by the screams and shouts from everyone. Her amber eyes glowed as she bent down and hugged Jewel and Laura.

"You guys sure earned your Poffins," she whispered.

Dawn was watching every move and did not even blink as she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. How could she compete with that?

* * *

**Song lyrics- Crushcrushcrush by Paramore. I know it didn't fit in...**

**Plz don't flame and if you really want to flame GENTLY**** ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! It's me again. SCHOOL FOR ME IS STARTING BACK TOMORROW!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!**

To hell with school. I won't be reviewing as often now. And I feel like cursing. Dammit.

**On with the story!!**

* * *

"And now presenting the winner of Johto's Grand Festival, it's May Maple!"  
As Marian introduced May with her Leafeon and Blaziken, Dawn was lost in thought about this contest…  
There was so much competition! After seeing Sara's performance, and Zoey with a Shadow Claw and Shock Wave combination with Glameow and Misdreavous, it seemed almost impossible that she could win. She did the same combination that she had practiced with Piplup and Buneary, and it worked out perfectly, but it seemed so weak now compared to the other appeals. She couldn't forget the Hearthome and Solaceon contests, and how she couldn't even get past the first round…_No! I can't let that happen to me again! _But what else could she do?  
Dawn let out a long sigh.  
She then felt a hand on her shoulder, and glanced up to look at Zoey, with a concerned Glameow next to her.  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
Dawn gulped. She didn't want Zoey to start worrying. She nodded and forced a smile-that slowly melted into a slight scowl as Zoey continued, her eyes gleaming with mischief.  
"That sigh didn't have anything to do with a certain prune-headed trainer with a Torterra, did it?"  
Dawn blinked. "No, it didn't," she said, trying to keep herself from murdering her best friend, "nothing to do with a certain trainer at all!"  
Zoey just smirked, the faintest hint of disbelief in her chocolate brown eyes.  
May created a whirlwind of flames and glowing green leaves, thanks to Fire Spin and Leaf Storm, and the crowd was actually quiet, for they were speechless as the flames died, leaving the leaves glowing orange as they floated down.  
All at once the crowd let out a deafening roar of excitement and awe as May shyly took a bow and scurried off the stage before any fans could bombard her. Everyone was cheering so loudly, the judges' comments were nearly inaudible.  
A scowl crept across Drew's face, and narrowed his eyes.  
"Rose?" Roselia spoke up beside him.  
"Hmm…you'll have to try your best out there in the battle round. I underestimated the people here."

* * *

"Alright, folks," Marian spoke through her microphone, "Did you like or love our talented young coordinators?"  
The audience answered by an earsplitting scream.  
"Well," she said, building up the anxiety," It's time to see which of our contestants will move on to the second rounds…the double battles!"  
She pointed to the large screen at the top of the stage. Several pictures of trainers appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye to be replaced by another that disappeared as quickly. From the stands, the others watched anxiously for the results.  
"Aw, man, I really hope everyone makes it to the second round…" Ash muttered.  
"Yeah, I guess it's hard to vote for everybody to win," Richie agreed.  
Ash looked in doubt toward the screen. He remembered how torn up Dawn had been after the Solaceon and Hearthome contests. May had never been cheerful about losing contests, either…  
Brock noticed his uncertainty and rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Ash, Dawn will be fine." He paused before adding, "No need to worry, remember?"  
Paul heard him, and murmured to himself, "But…that's when I worry the most."

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Cyrus grabbed a frightened brunette by the collar of his shirt and screamed in his face. This could not be happening. His radar had a small spot where that girl …Dawn was, but suddenly the radar stopped working because some grunt fool messed it up. Now he and his commanders had to look for her themselves.  
"I don't know!!" Holly wailed, tears streaming down her face. She wished Brock was here to protect her now…  
"I KNOW you have her hiding somewhere!!" He felt a sense of annoyance at the girl's stubbornness.  
"I don't. And if I did, I wouldn't betray her to a scum like you!" she growled, but still trembling in sheer horror.  
Cyrus looked as if he was about to explode with fury, but he managed to keep his cool. Instead, he nodded toward Mars. "Do it." This one would learn her lesson.  
He let go of a shivering Holly, whose eyes filled with fear at the sight of Mars, coming toward her with a knife in her hand.  
There was suddenly a flash of metal, a bloodcurdling scream from Holly, and in a split second she lay in the middle of the room, the life bleeding out of her. Her lifeless eyes still looked up toward the ceiling, wide and frightened.  
Mars put away the hard strip of red and silver with a smirk on her face as she returned to her boss' side.  
"And that," he spat, with an air of finality, "is what happens when you argue with Team Galactic." And they left the room, leaving Holly's body behind.

* * *

**Cyrus is Mad. Dun Dun DUUUUUNNNN!!**

If you're wondering how Paul knows the whole "That's-when-I-worry-the-most," well --ahem-- quoting:

--Paul eavesdropping--

Dawn: Don't worry, Staravia!

Ash: ...And that's when Dawn's mom says she worries the most...

Dawn:WHAT?!

Brock: Alright, calm down!

--Paul standing on a tower-thingy--

Ash: _Thinking of an onix crushing Dawn..._

Dawn: _No Need To Worry...!_

Ash: And that's when I worry the most!_ Runs off..._

**That's pretty much how. Maybe he might use it against her like Ash does. Who knows?**

**Plz review :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow...it's been a while...**

**Oh yeah thank you for reviewing!! You guys rock :)**

* * *

May's picture appeared on the screen. Then Drew's, Zoey's, Sara's…

And finally, Dawn's.

"Yes! YES!!" Ash jumped up and down in his seat in happiness and waved his hands until an angry spectator silenced him.

Brock sighed. "Great! Everyone made it into the second round!"

Casey grinned from ear to ear, seeing her friends succeed. "I've never seen a contest before. I wonder what the battle roundis like?"

"It's like a normal battle, except you have to make your pokemon look the best it can." Richie replied. "You can't switch out pokemon, because you can only use one or two depending on the conditions. Also, there are points, and you lose more points every time you get hit by an attack, and then there's the time limit…"

He trailed off, seeing Casey gape at him.

"But that sounds so hard!" she said.

"It is, but it's still cool for a coordinator. I guess other trainers challenging the Gyms would find it difficult. But it's still beautiful."

Paul just muttered to himself, "This should be interesting."

* * *

"WE DID IT!!" May cried out, twirling around the room.

"We're going to the second round; we're going to the second round…" Sara sang, dancing around with Jewel and Laura. "And in our first contest, too!"

Drew just smirked, thinking that the champion's ribbon was his for the taking.

"YES!!" Dawn screamed, nearly deafening Zoey. "That ribbon is as good as ours, Piplup!"

"Dawn!" Zoey sighed, as did Piplup. "Not this again! Just because you made it to the second round means you're gonna win!"  
Dawn didn't listen to her and just kept jumping about. Zoey just sighed and looked at the screen.

* * *

"As you all know, before the second round begins tomorrow, the Grand Ball will be tonight!" Marian said into her microphone.

The crowd's yells dropped to excited whispers as she spoke.

"HEH?!" Paul asked in disbelief. "A grand ball? WHY didn't I hear about this?"

"You didn't hear?" Gary looked at him and sweat dropped. "Heh, sorry about that. Well, there's gonna be a ball tonight, like a dance sort of-"

"WHAT?" he shrieked. "I can't go to that! I don't even have proper clothes to go there. They have rules like you have to wear a tie or tux or something like that."

"You worrying about what clothes you wear? You've been spending too much time around Dawn," Casey teased.

"Speaking of Dawn," Misty smirked, trying to hold back a laugh, "Isn't she coming too? Wouldn't miss out on that, would you?"

Misty couldn't hold it back anymore, and burst out laughing.

"Wouldn't you be goggling at Ash?" he retorted, and Misty's smile quickly transformed into a scowl.

"I hope I get to meet some pretty girls at the ball!" Brock exclaimed, lost in daydreams.

Misty's scowl deepened. "Fat chance…"

* * *

"GGGGRRRRRRRRR!!" Gary yelled, tearing through his wardrobe and tossed clothes everywhere. "Oh, I can't find my tux!"

After the contest, everyone had met up and returned to their rooms. The girls had been pretty tired after spending all day just looking for the right dress and the makeup to go along with it, hair accessories, shoes, the works. The boys, as usual…put it off. Now they were struggling to get ready.

"Check the closet," Richie suggested.

"It's not there," Gary replied irritably. He continued to pelt his clothes all over, trying to uncover his tux that his Prof. Oak had sent him.

Drew stared helplessly at the clock on the wall. "Gary, you have to find your tux now. If you don't we're gonna be late. Even the girls are gonna reach there before us, and they take forever." He turned his head away.

"PAUL!!" He shrieked when he saw him standing in the corner. "You haven't dressed yet!"

"Neither has Gary," Paul pointed out, gesturing towards the brunette. "And do I really have to go?"

"Yes."

"Well, I won't anyway."

"Oh for Pete's sake…" Drew reached into his bag, pulled out clothes and tossed them at the stubborn boy. "Here. You have something to wear. Happy? Now hurry up."

"Oh, fine, fine have it your way. You guys seem too excited to go to this thing, anyway. Hmmph." Paul scowled at him while he zipped down his jacket and took it off. Ash winced when he saw a large purple and reddish scar stretching across his upper arm, a mark left from some painful event.

"Oww. Whadja do?" he asked with a slight grimace.

Paul glared at him. "None of your business," he snapped, and slipped on the pants and crossed his arms.

"Found it," Gary called out.

"About time," Drew muttered under his breath.

* * *

Mira bustled about the house, fetching food and other supplies for the pokemon. Reiji sat in the corner, reading a newspaper with a frown on his face.

Mira scurried up to him and shoved a container of brown pellets right under his nose.

"Are these the right ones for Alakazam, Reiji?"

"Huh?" he seemed distracted. "Oh, yes, yes. Those are the right ones."

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and they looked up in surprise, even the pokemon. There weren't usually visitors.

"Coming," he yelled. "Mira, would you get that please?"

She sighed and shot the teen an annoyed look. "But-"

"It's just a door."

She bit back a protest. She'd been dashing around all day. "Okay," she said finally, and ran for the door.

But, as she pulled the brass knob, her eyes widened in surprise as she looked up to see the person's face.

"Mrs. Hikari? Hi! What a surprise!"

"Hello, Mira," Akayo spoke coolly.

"What are you doing here? Why'd you come all the way from Twinleaf?"

Akayo's warm smile disappeared, and her face became serious. "Actually, Mira, I came because I wanted to speak with Reiji."  
The pink haired girl tipped her head in confusion. Reiji looked up at that, and glanced at her with the same bewilderment.

"S-sure, come in," Reiji called out. Mira led Akayo inside and both of them sat down beside him. Both he and Mira stared at the woman, eyes huge.

"Well, Reiji," she let out a deep sigh, "have you heard about the deaths that have been taking place?"

He nodded slowly, feeling bile rise in his throat. He'd just read it in that newspaper…and every page seemed to have someone dying.

"W-when I first f-found out, I thought it was nothing, and then…" She trailed off, and it was harder than ever to keep her serious face up. "Then a girl named Holly was stabbed, and close to the Resort Area, too…and that's where she is…." she took a deep breath. "Reiji, you have to understand, I'm extremely worried about Dawn."

He reminded himself forcibly that Akayo was Dawn's mother, but she was voicing his exact thoughts. He had to admit that he was worried about his younger brother, Paul, as much as she was concerned for Dawn's safety, but they could take care of themselves….

"Mrs. Hikari, I know," he said, emotion welling in his voice. "But surely they aren't in any _real_ danger?"

Her blue eyes were filled with sorrow. "I hope not."

Reiji flashed a look at Mira, who had her head bowed. She had said nothing the whole time; she just sat there, her face pale.

He suspected she was thinking of her dead and formerly paralyzed sister, Maylene, and her death had distressed everyone.

He just couldn't stand losing Dawn or Paul forever, despite the bond he had with Paul was less-than-close. _They're still my friends..._

"I hope not, either," he murmured.

* * *

**Hehehehehehe...**

**Reiji appeared! Woot! **

**Oh yeah remember that the english thingy ep didn't air in America with Reiji in it, so... don't blame me if he's OOC.**


	9. Chapter 9

**School sucks officially...**

**It's really been a while...so, this chapter isn't the best, but still read and REVIEW!!**

* * *

The ball was a huge one, according to everyone on the island. The whole place was decorated in colorful streamers, balloons, and an ice sculpture in every corridor (there were a lot).

"I look like an idiot."

"Oh, Paul, you look cute! Seriously!" May reassured him.  
"I'm not supposed to look cute! Plus this thing is on waay too tight!!" Paul complained.  
"Oh come on, I'm in enough of a mess as it is!" Drew pulled out the lavender haired boy from the room, who was struggling. Eventually he calmed down and crossed his arms stubbornly.  
"Should we wait for Casey? She didn't come out yet," Misty said. She wore a sparkling blue dress that was dappled with a bubble pattern.  
"Casey will be fine. Can we go now?" Sara said irritably.

In the dance hall there was double the décor. A huge ice sculpture of Dialga and Palkia were in the center of a long table covered in food-chicken, desserts, and others.  
"FOOOD!" Ash made a beeline for the feast table and immediately began devouring a piece of chicken. Misty sweat dropped in annoyance, so much of her 'date'.  
"Hey, look over there!"  
Dawn looked over at where May was pointing and gaped in shock.  
It was Casey.  
She was in a dress. A pretty dress.  
Which brilliant strategist managed to get Casey in a dress? It was bright yellow and puffy. Her hair was tied up into two glossy braids with a daisy clip. For the first time, instead of sneakers, she had high heel shoes. She scurried over to the other girls with a faint blush on her face. She was both smiling and scowling at the same time.  
"It took me forever to get this thing on! And now I look horrible!"  
"It sure did take you eternity," Sara muttered.  
Dawn shot her a look. "You look fine! You are a vision! You look great, I swear!"  
"That I doubt. Anyway, when are you guys gonna dance?"  
Dawn looked across towards the crowds. Everyone seemed to be having a good time dancing. Yet something made her reluctant to, with everyone watching.  
She looked back at her friends. Richie and Ash were clearing the dessert table, Misty and Casey were chatting, and May and Drew were arguing. As people passed left and right, she noticed that Paul wasn't around. She whirled around, and just saw him leaving the building. Where was he going?  
"Dawn." A hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned back around to find Sara giving her an annoyed look. "Are you going to stare at nothing for the entire night or are you going to come with us to watch May and Drew humiliate themselves on the dance floor?"  
Dawn laughed. "I'll come soon. Just tell them not to do it yet-I wanna see!!" As soon as she was out of sight, Dawn raced outside to follow Paul.  
A chilly wind blew past, plastering her hair to her face and raising her dress. The stars glittered in the sky, and the full moon turned the trees silver. Paul was nowhere in sight.  
She tried to race ahead, but her high heels sank into the ground. Angrily, she had to stomp forward. She was careful not to rustle among the fallen leaves too much. Soon, she saw him sitting on a smooth rock, looking down into a pond.  
"Hey!" She called out, a little softly, not wanting to startle him.  
He spun his head around in confusion, saw her standing there. He wanted to be alone. She couldn't be more troublesome if she tried! He thought in annoyance.  
"You okay?" Dawn raised the bottom of her contest dress and sat down beside him, looking into the water. The surface of the pool was still, and their faces were reflected perfectly into the greenish water. A dazzling circle of white light reflected in the center, it was the face of the moon.  
Paul was silent for a while. After a few seconds he spoke in a nearly inaudible voice; "I was just…thinking of my parents."  
She froze. He had only spoken of his dead mother and father when Reiji brought it up in conversations, and only speaking a few sentences, usually by then the subject would have been changed. She took a pebble nervously in her hand and threw it with a noisy plop into the water, breaking the glassy surface and the uncomfortable silence.  
"You never really said how they-" she flinched, "-died."  
Dawn half- expected Paul to slap her. But he didn't even look at her. Instead he let out a deep sigh and said, "They died when the bomb hit Veilstone about nine years ago."  
Mystified, she watched as he pulled one of his sleeves revealing the ugly scar stretching down his upper arm.  
"This is the practically the only thing I have to remember them," his calm, quiet voice turned into a fierce shriek, "A mark to remind me of the pain of when they died! All thanks to Cyrus!" He spat the last words out.  
Dawn was taken aback by his change of mood. Before she could stop herself, the question came out, "Are you scared of joining them?"  
He was silent for a while, and then stared intensely into her blue eyes. His eyes were so piercing they made her blush for some reason. "I'm not afraid of dying," he said slowly, "at least, not of me dying."  
"What do you mean?"  
He gave her a long look, with hostility and something else. He got up to leave, saying, "You'll find out."  
"Huh? What?" she called after him. Dawn couldn't ever understand him. He always left her or her friends with something to bug them forever.  
The ripples from the pebble had reached the edge of the pool, where she sat. Wanting to check if any dirt got on her dress, she looked down into the water, only to recoil back with a scream of horror.  
She could have just sworn she saw, instead of her own face, that of Dialga's. Her heart hammered against her chest as she forced herself to glance at her reflection in the water again.  
But she saw her own. Same blue hair, eyes, pale skin and frilly pink dress.  
It was nothing, she thought with relief, probably has to do with something I ate or drink. Or those tea lights inside are brighter than I thought.  
Hands shaking, with the image stuck in her head, she bustled back to the hall, trying to push away the memory.

"Ahh! I'm finally here!" Cynthia took a while to stretch out her cramped limbs before reaching for her Rapidash's Pokeball.  
I'm gonna need a lift, she thought. Team Galactic could be here already!  
"Rapidash, let's go!" she sent out a flaming unicorn, which let out a high whinny as she climbed onto its back.  
It seemed ready to run like the wind at first, but then it lowered with unease and reared up.  
"Whoa, girl! Easy!" Cynthia pondered on what could have gotten into the usually calm creature.  
A rustling came from the bushes nearby. She whirled around.  
"Who's there?" she called out bravely, hiding the fear that rose in her chest.  
The whole place was still.  
With a shrug, she gestured for Rapidash to go.  
"GGGRRRAAAAARRRR!!"  
A flash of mint-green, red and grey came out of the corner of her eye, and before she knew it she and Rapidash were bowled over. She caught for a fleeting moment, the sight of Rapidash struggling against a shiny Toxicroak and a Purugly. Before she could scramble to her feet, another force knocked her over, freezing her and setting her face-down into the cold dirt.  
Seething, she turned her head away from the ground, to meet the sneering face of Commander Jupiter.  
"Where do you think you're going, blondie?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Well, hello everybody. It's summer holidays, yeah!! Lots of time to write fics. You can groan now. :D**

**It has been a bit of a while since I uploaded the last chapter. No Cynthia in this chapter, but there will be some in the next chapter. **

**Alright, here we go:**

* * *

"Hi, Mira!!" Reiji called out to the pink haired girl coming out from her house. An Alakazam followed the fourteen year old outside and waved its hand to the young adult, But when Mira turned her head to look at him, they didn't shine bright blue; but rather dull, and they had rings around them. Her pink pigtails looked brittle, and she seemed quite miserable. Reiji frowned with worry and approached her.

"Hey! What happened to you?"

Mira looked up. Her skin was as pale as ash. "Wanted to sleep. Couldn't. Nigtmares."

"And where's Ma…" he broke off hastily and covered his mouth, but Mira knew he was just about to say _Maylene_, and didn't want to remind her about her sister's death.

"It's okay," she whispered quietly. "It's good to remember sometimes." Reiji looked down to cover his eyes, which were filled with sorrow.

They stood there in silence for a while.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"

"I was going to the restaurant down the street for dinner, but starving and then ditching you later sounds okay too."

Reiji laughed at the flash of the old Mira. Her eyes briefly lit up, but as soon as her sister came back into her mind, they darkened with sadness again.

"Alright then, c'mon, let's go!" Suddenly high in spirits, Reiji threw Staraptor's Pokeball into the air and ran off, leaving the girl shouting in annoyance, giggling and gasping for air at the same time.

Reiji stopped running when he was in the middle of a clearing in the small area of woods. The woods were on the outskirts of town; he hadn't realized they ran so far. He sat down and relaxed in the cool shade of the trees while waiting for Mira. In about two minutes his Staraptor appeared and perched on a nearby branch, and Alakazam materialized on a smooth rock behind him. In about ten minutes Mira appeared, sweating and breathing heavily.

"Are you TRYING to KILL me from _exhaustion_?!" Mira yelled at him, irritated. "Do you know how long I've been chasing you?!"

"Couldn't you have used Alakazam's Teleport? I mean, he had the right idea."

Mira looked quizzically at her Pokemon, who was quietly meditating and not paying the two any attention. She sweat dropped. "Oh….I guess that could have worked too." She stopped and looked around in alarm, and her eyes widened with fear. "Reiji, this is the part where Officer Jenny told everyone not to go! She said it was dangerous and was the ideal place for the next crime to occur, because it's so close to the Team Galactic Warehouse."

"Mira, you're too uptight." He patted her head as if she was a seven year old. "There's no need to worry."

"That's what Dawn says before something bad happens!" She snapped.

"Hey, don't lose your temper. Nothing bad is going to happen. No criminal is gonna be stupid enough to attack in the broad daylight in the middle of the city. Even Team Rocket knows that." The last part was not exactly true. He brushed a strand of indigo hair out of his eyes and crossed his arms to show his indifference, but gave her a friendly smile.

"Reiji, you're just…so stubborn. And just like your brother, too! I can't for the life of me figure out why my sister had a crush on you!"

Suddenly Alakazam growled.

"Huh?" Mira glanced at her Pokemon in alarm. "What's wrong?"

The Psi Pokemon snapped open his eyes and was up on its feet and glaring at some unseen figure in the distance, through the trees. The two spoons it held began to glow and spin between its fingers, and Staraptor fluttered its wings in confusion, sensing danger. Reiji frowned and stepped forward to comfort the bird, before he heard someone whisper,

"Explosion."

A blast of fire and smoke blew Reiji off his feet as the attack made a huge roar. He opened his mouth to call a command to Staraptor, or check if Mira was okay, or even call for help. It was in vain. Smoke seemed to fill his lungs as his mouth opened, and he coughed madly as his eyes began to water and cloud. Somewhere by his leg he felt sharp, throbbing pain, and warm blood flowing down his side, staining his clothes and apron. He tried to look ahead, but all he saw were leaping flames, endless black smoke and two shady figures walking towards him...

* * *

"Reiji!!" Mira called out, cupping her mouth in he hands. She was safe; Alakazam had unleashed a Light Screen defensive move to protect her. But the young adult was too far away from them to have had protection from the blast. Reiji's Staraptor had flown off- to get help, she figured- but it looked like it was too late. In the middle of the destruction, all she could see was black smoke swirling around the small reflective dome she and the Alakazam stood in, and fire licking its walls. All of a sudden she heard a bloodcurdling shriek of pain echo through the burning trees. It sounded like Reiji!

"REIJI!!" She screamed, trying to locate him, but she gasped as Alakazam collapsed. A wave of hot fear came over her as the Light Screen broke through and a shadow leaped towards her. The force of the impact threw her backwards and slammed her against a large stone, and all her eyesight turned red as the scene became blurry. As the smoke from the detonation cleared up, she caught a glimpse of Reiji crouched in pain, and two green-haired people standing over him, laughing, before she drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Paul, wait up!" Dawn stumbled behind Paul, while he just walked on, hands in his pockets. Not slowing down, not caring about it.

"Pau….Urrrrmmpphh!!" The teenage boy stopped without warning and she slammed into his back, letting out a little cry. She managed to find her balance before falling to the leafy ground. He turned around and stared at her through his purple bangs as she blinked at him in confusion.

"Paul, aren't you coming back to the ballroom with us?" She couldn't understand why he'd just leave when the party started.

He narrowed his eyes and grunted, "Too many people. I don't like crowds that much."

She folded her arms and frowned at him, with a surge of rage. "After about three years you still don't like being around us? You still prefer to be a lone wolf? We're all friends! I thought you knew that after…after all that we've been through…" She felt the warm sting of tears in her eyes, and tried to brush them away quickly, so that Paul wouldn't take it as a sign of weakness. She just couldn't control that feeling of sadness she always got when he walked away.

Paul noticed it still and snorted. "Troublesome girl. You get too emotional." He rummaged around in the pockets of his tuxedo until he found a handkerchief and handed it to her. She raised on blue eyebrow and observed the pink and red roses dappling the sky-blue cloth, puzzled.

Paul's cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink. "It's Drew's." Dawn shrugged and wiped her eyes with it anyway.

"Sorry, Paul, it's just that…" She looked at him with wide, puppy-dog eyes, and the words just tumbled out of her mouth. "I...Don't want you to go away. I just want to spend a little more time with you." She gave him a small half a smile, and only one tear dripped down. She didn't really care about the cold wind that chilled her to the bone, or the loud music that erupted from inside the building, or that Paul didn't care about her. She gazed deep into his eyes, as intensely as he had looked into hers, so many ages ago. "I just want to follow my heart," she whispered, so softly that it was nearly inaudible. "And my heart is with you."

For a second everything went silent. The music stopped playing, leaves that rustled beneath their feet stopped, and even the wind stopped blowing. Dawn swore silently that her heart's rapid beats could be heard from Lake Verity. Paul stared at his feet, his expression hidden by his long lavender hair.

_He's taking so long to answer!_ She thought, getting scared. She stood there, waiting for his response. Her heart missed a beat, and she thought it would stop altogether. _What if he hates me for this? Oh, Arceus, have I made a terrible mistake?_

She braced herself for his answer as he finally lifted his head, but he met her eyes with such a gentle gaze, so calm she felt as if she could stare at him forever. She slowly drew in a breath as he took a step towards her.

"We all have to follow our hearts," he murmured, not sounding like his cold-hearted self at all. His eyes were shining with emotion. He cupped her face and leaned forward until they felt each other's breaths on their face, and he whispered, "Even if two people are different…when every life meets another life…something will be born…." She recognized the words he said to her so many times. She never realized why he kept telling her, or what the phrase meant to him. Dawn knew now. She closed her eyes and flushed red as their foreheads touched…she felt a thrill go down her spine, making her shiver. She felt the warmth of his body as one hand wrapped around her waist, their lips were inches apart, and then….

"EEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!!"

A shrill scream split the night air, breaking the silence. The moment was ruined. Paul frowned with frustration and let go of her.

Dawn's heart didn't slow down it's beating, but for a different reason this time….Fear of a different kind. She clutched onto his arm, but he shook it off .

"What do you think that was?" She asked.

"Do you think I know, troublesome?" He asked, not turning around.

Somehow the voice seemed familiar, as if she'd heard it before…just not screaming. A soft voice, caring, fierce in battle, but yet she couldn't name who it was.

"I don't want to stay here," she announced, shaking.

"Then we'll go inside, then."

"No," she shook her head, "I just have the feeling that something's wrong. That something's out there to get me."

"Look, Girl, just go inside. Everything's fine as it is!" He couldn't stand this. He just needed to be alone, no matter how deeply his feelings ran for her, or anything about the scene which unfolded a few moments ago.

"She's right, you know," a gruff voice spoke with scorn behind him, with an edge of evil laughter. "She's dead now. You are, too, young man. Get out of the way."

Paul whirled around, and scowled as he stared challengingly into the icy blue eyes of the Galactic Leader.

* * *

**Team Galactic took their time coming. I might kill somebody. Not saying who.**

**DAMN!! DAMN Paul didn't kiss Dawn, sorry. D:**

**The next chapter will be with Team Galactic as you can see. They showed up, Woot **

**Review, plz :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hallo, it's me again :) Sorry about that other chapter it was probably boring..:( ya well I have this one here and PLEASE review it! If you think it's bad still review it so I can improve.**

**I think I'm nearly done with the next chapter of Little Problem, and I'm working on a songfic. Until then, here's the chapter for this story...**

* * *

"Well, well, well," Cyrus smirked at the two, with a glint in his eyes. "Huh. I was looking for this girl, but I had no idea that you were entertaining your boyfriend."

Dawn was too shocked to reply. She clutched Paul's sleeve in fear, and just looked on with wide crystal-blue eyes as The Galactic leader just stood there and glared at them.

Paul seemed equally surprised, but his eyes became glittering black slits of hatred as he glared at the murderer of his family.

"One step closer and I swear I'll kill you," Paul hissed through gritted teeth.

"Kill me, now?" Cyrus' laughter rang through the cold air and echoed through the trees. "You must be quite the dreamer, if you think you can kill _me_." He walked forward slightly, and as he did this Paul was probably trying not to shy away. The purple haired boy stood his ground and met Cyrus' eyes challengingly, but Dawn could feel him trembling.

"I don't understand why you are so hostile toward me, boy," He said, each word dripping out filled with a kind of sweet hate, and he shoved his face closer. "After all, we have so much in common."

"We are nothing alike," Paul spat.

He paced around the teens and finally turned to face them. "Are we, now? We both crave for power and grasp it whenever we can…we treat others with cruelty and hate…and of course, we are both orphans." He let the last few words linger, and smiled when he saw Paul's face twist in fury at them.

Dawn felt Paul tense as if to move forward, and she held his arm tighter to stop him. "It's a trap, he's just trying to make you reckless so he can kill you!" she whispered in his ear. Paul didn't seem to listen although he did scowl and shake his head. Dawn looked up toward the one who wanted to kill her.

Dawn turned to the man. "Get out of here." The blue-haired girl was still behind him, but she spoke bravely and met Cyrus' eerie stare…ignoring the chills that ran down her spine.

"Should I?" He lifted his chin. "I don't think I should go quite yet. After all, wouldn't Mr. Shinji like to know what happened to his brother?"

Paul couldn't hold back his anger, not caring about pride anymore. "**What did you do to Reggie?!**" he roared, lunging forward.

Cyrus chuckled. "Nothing. Yet. But I will leave him harmless…on one condition."

Paul tried to ignore the sickening and sinking feeling in his gut, and choked out, "What do you want, you bloody demon…?"

The sunken face distorted into a smirk. "You know what I want." He lifted his arm and pointed directly at Dawn. "I want her. I want her dead." He stepped up so close that Paul could feel his breath billowing in his face. "Let's say we make a little deal. I get the girl and kill her, while I leave you and your brother in peace. However…if you do not wish to abide…" he tipped his head, and Paul could see the silver of a long brandished knife gleaming in the moonlight, hidden behind his back. "You know what I am capable of."

Dawn gulped and looked at Paul, waiting for his answer.

Paul hesitated. Part of him was wondering if he should say yes, and hand Dawn over. He always put himself before others, and he didn't want anything to happen to Reiji. But the other part didn't want anything to happen to Dawn, either, even though he knew he shouldn't be giving in to these types of cute crap. But he couldn't let Galactic win.

"No," Paul said strongly. "I'd rather _die_ than subject to your plans."

Dawn whimpered at the man's now-harsh gaze, and clutched Paul's sleeve tighter.

"You'd rather die?" Cyrus' voice got harsher. "Then you shall…" He pulled out some device, and pressed one of the buttons.

"What was that…you just did?" Dawn asked, shaking in fear.

"Oh, nothing, my dear…" he murmured with a bone-chilling smile that didn't seem kind at all. He began to stalk towards them as he tossed two Pokeballs in the air. "Crobat! Weavile! Eliminate these two." The red beams materialized into a purple bat and a black and red feline who both growled as if they could already taste humans' blood on their lips.

Paul grimaced and called out his Electivire. "Electivire, standby for battle!" Getting ready to command his Pokemon, he was too concentrated on what he was doing to get Dawn off of him, but she did let go of him eventually and tried to sneak away to get help.

"Not so fast," Cyrus smirked as he reached for his knife. She regained her place at Paul's side, as the three of them, only an Electivire, a defenseless teen girl and a reckless boy driven by rage, backed away but got ready for the fight of their lives…

_Mesprit, help us!!_

* * *

"Ash…" Misty called out in the crowd, "Ash!!"

"Ash better get his backside over here. This is serious trouble…" Sara muttered, scanning the faces around her.

Misty nodded with her aqua eyes filled with concern. Finally a familiar voice piped up from the side of them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ash appeared behind a large lady dancing and talked to the two girls. "You were calling me."

"Yes, we were," Sara said, "It's about Dawn."

Ash looked baffled. "I haven't seen her all this time, but she came with us to the ball," he muttered thoughtfully. "Where could she be?"

The girls exchanged worried glances. Misty then blurted out, "She went outside after Paul. It's been an hour and she hasn't come back yet!"

Ash widened his auburn eyes, and then stared at his feet, thinking.

"What?" Drew and May's voice seemed to come from nowhere as they made their way through the crowd to join them. "Dawn's gone missing?" May looked bewildered and worried, clutching her red dress tight in fear for her friend.

"And Paul," Ash added darkly. "What happened, Mist?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have asked you for help," Misty said dryly. "I told you, she left with Paul and didn't come back."

"We could do an aerial search," Drew offered. "We could find them easily if we look through the air. I have my Flygon."

"I'll come with you," Sara said.

"And me," Ash spoke up, and took out Staraptor's Pokeball and turned to them. "We have to find them, in case something happens!"

May looked at her green haired friend with wide sapphire eyes. "Please be careful, Drew," she whispered.

Drew stared at her with a soft expression, and was about to say something before Ash dragged him away.

They raced out the door and once they were outside, they tossed Pokeballs into the air.

"Flygon, let's go!"

"Staraptor, I choose you!"

"Maia, you're in charge!"

A green striped dragon flapped its diamond shaped wings, Ash's large bird crowed as it came out, and Sara's yellow Dragonite hovered above them.

Ash climbed aboard, and told Staraptor, "We're looking for Dawn and Paul." Staraptor cawed to show he understood. "Okay, let's go!"

"What will happen if we don't find them?" Sara as she climbed onto her hazel-eyed Dragonite.

"Don't say that," Ash told her, calming down his bird Pokemon, who seemed to be more agitated than usual. "Be more positive."

"I just hope they're all right; May will kick my butt if I don't find Dawn," Drew muttered as the winged creatures took off, spreading a cloud of sand as they lifted off the ground.

The three scanned the sky, but they couldn't see a thing from the distance they were at. "I can't see anyone," Sara complained.

"I'm beginning to think they left the island. This whole place is deserted!" Ash exclaimed.

"But we have to - Oh...my…." Drew's voice trailed off at some unseen thing.

Sara looked ahead, too, and gaped, murmuring a flammable word that burned Ash's ears.

When Ash looked ahead, he repeated it.

Ships with a "G" logo on it surrounded the sides of the island, with gigantic cannons ready to shoot, as if the commanders of them were waiting for something to leave. What seemed to be army troops, but not from any police force they knew gathered by the Fight Area, but they were already marching toward the Resort Area. The forest surrounding was torn apart by their Pokemon, flaming and clawed trees torn out of the ground as they approached the building at all sides.

As they stared helplessly at the damage, they weren't concentrating on anything and didn't hear the air current change as someone approached behind them, flying on a powerful Pokemon. When they did, fear clutched their hearts as the familiar voice laughed and said:

"Surprise, Surprise. Remember me?"

* * *

**EDIT: I changed Reiji's name to Reggie because the US episode with him aired.**

**Ten dollars if you can guess who appeared behind them. **

**Again, please, Please, PLEASE Review!!**


	12. Chapter 12

**New Chapter... yah. I decided to chnage Reggie back to Reiji, because I agree with kawaii serebii; it's just a freaky name. Besides, Reiji looks cuter :D**

**Well, we'll just see who I owe ten dollars!!**

* * *

Darkness.

That was all Cynthia could see through one of the tiny holes in her prison, supposedly left for breathing. She was in an awkward position. Brittle strands of blond hair fell over her pale face, and her eyes reflected regret, hate, worry and fury flickering like minnows in icy blue pools.

How else could she react? She'd failed Dawn…tried to prevent her death, and for what? To be pummeled down by Jupiter, and captured, then given barely any food, water…with no dignity left. She took in a deep breath, trying to get the littlest bit of oxygen she could in the iron cell, virtually inescapable, and so tiny. She didn't even think it had a door; they'd knocked her out before placing her inside…to make sure she wouldn't get out the way she came in, probably.

Another painful cramp ran up her leg, and she changed position. This was very uncomfortable.

Suddenly, something rattled from outside. She could hear chains clanging together, and somebody's sneering voice.

"Awww…lookie here. It's the twerp who tried to stop Saturn from retrieving the meteorites at Veilstone about 3 years ago." Cynthia recognized the harsh, rough tone of Commander Mars, but she had no idea who she was talking about.

"Yeah, I remember that guy." An unfamiliar voice. _Probably a grunt,_ Cynthia thought. "He was battlin' with an Electabuzz. Heard it evolved, though."

_Electabuzz? Evolved? Paul has an Electabuzz that evolved…_ Could that be Paul who was captured? He was always a bit rash, but he was supposedly cunning enough to escape if they caught him. Peering through one of the holes again, she thought she saw dark lavender hair and black eyes gleaming in the gloom.

She felt cold waves of fear pass over her. So it really was Paul who got captured! Dawn would go nuts…but was Dawn here too? All of a sudden she felt faint. If the blue-haired girl was here, then Cynthia's efforts would be in vain, and she'd be dead already. She forced herself to look back again. Commander Mars was circling Paul with a visible smirk on her face.

"So," she said, "I believe you were caught prowling around our Warehouse? Spying, perhaps?"

_Around their Warehouse?_ _In Veilstone?_ _I thought Paul was in the Resort Area._

His voice was only an exhausted croak, but it was still recognizable. "I wasn't spying. I was taking a walk. It has nothing to do with you. Please let me go."

_That's out of character._

"I'm not interested in that," Mars snapped, forcing his chin up, making him wince. "You're spying for your brother and his girlfriend. And where the other is, we'll most likely find the weakness of our prize." She bared her teeth like an animal, and spoke somewhat softly, "Where is your brother?"

_Why do they want to know where Reiji is? _Cynthia was trying to piece it all together; it just didn't make any sense. _What would they want with him?_ Her head hurt; it was so confusing.

Then it hit her.

It was the other way around.

Paul hadn't been captured; _Reiji_ was standing in front her cell, taking the blows that Mars gave him without a word or sound. And they were looking for Paul so they could track down Dawn. As Mars flashed a light in his face, her discovery was confirmed by the messy ponytail and bloodstained clothes and apron, which he usually kept so clean.

They probably were looking for a weakness, so they could get to her and kill Dawn without weakening themselves battling Ash and the others. She felt somewhat relieved that the younger sibling was safe, but she was also worried about Reiji. What would they do to him?

"Commander Mars." Another grunt rushed into the room, sweating as if he'd run a long way. "We've just received orders from our Leader. He wants a direct attack on the Ribbon Syndicate Building ASAP."

"Now?!" Mars rolled her blood-red eyes and sighed. "He never lets me kick around the prisoners. Alright. You," Mars added, pointing at one of the grunts. "Take this young man to his new cell. We'll deal with him later." With a venomous glance at everybody in the room, she stalked away.

The grunts poked and slapped the 25 year old, who refused to move, until one of them grabbed him forcibly by the throat and dragged him along. Then he was out of view, although she could still hear his shouts of pain echoing in the night.

Before Mars left the room, she narrowed her blood-red eyes and stepped up close to Cynthia's cell. "Are you comfortable?" She asked with a sarcastic smile.

"I could be better," The blond Champion replied, seething.

"Hmmph. Look at her, The Champion, in all her glory. Ha!" She smirked at her, and said while walking out, "You'll see, this is one battle you can't win. And make sure you're nice to us," she added darkly, "We can decide your whole future. Whether you live…or die."

Staring at her disappearing white-cloaked body, Cynthia couldn't help wondering if Mars was right. Would they lose?

* * *

"Thunderpunch!" Paul called out.

"Dodge it and use Night Slash!"

Before he could even breathe in, Weavile had positioned itself behind a lumbering Electivire and was slashing at it with razor sharp claws. The Electric type tried to strike back, but once its sparking fist hurled towards the Razor Claw Pokemon, it just zoomed away as if it had vanished in a blink and sliced its other side. Crobat was doing the same thing, darting all around like a troublesome fly, biting and slicing with currents of air. Electivire howled in pain.

Paul growled in anger and desperation. Even with a type advantage, Cyrus' Pokemon were too fast for his, and were taking no damage at all. Electivire was slowly getting exhausted, and in no time it would be knocked out.

Cyrus smirked, seeing the boy's desperation. "Had enough yet?"

"Not just yet," he spat back. " My Pokemon is still awake. Electivire…!"

"I don't think so," The other trainer snarled, "Both of you! Hyper Beam!"

Dawn gasped in fear, her heartbeat doubling. If both the Hyper Beams hit, eben she knew Electivire wouldn't stand a chance. Other than that, the double lasers would keep blasting forward until it rammed into them directly. Weakened, they would be wide open targets for Cyrus' malicious plans.

"You can still turn this around," Cyrus told the purple-haired trainer. "You can still surrender and get away unharmed."

"No damn way," Paul's eyes narrowed, trying to look brave, but he gritted his teeth at the orange beams powering up in the Pokemon's mouth, and knew he was doomed.

Without hesitating, Dawn whirled and hurled a Pokeball with a Capsule still on it. Paul might not exactly thank her for helping him, but he obviously needed a hand.

"Pachirisu, Discharge!!" In an explosion of hearts, a white-and blue squirrel burst out of the blue sphere and let loose a blast of blue lightning that caught Weavile and Crobat completely off guard. They both tumbled to the dusty ground and struggled to get up, blue sparks of electricity still crackling on their fur.

"What?!" Cyrus screeched.

Paul didn't comment on the strength of her Pachirisu. Instead he turned towards her, his eyes burning with irritation and slight embarrassment.

"Well, thanks for nothing!" He snapped, not noticing her flinch. "I could have handled them fine!" Dawn was taken aback; she'd only been trying to help.

"Hey, Mister Arrogant, You needed help and you know it!" She practically yelled in his face. How could he just refuse her offer so rudely out of pride, when this was a matter of life and death? Paul looked baffled and angry, but then he murmured something that might or might not have been 'thank you'. For a moment, the look in his eyes held a flashback of when they were about to kiss.

"Finish them!"

Cyrus' voice woke her from her daydream as she faced him with an unusual scowl. His Pokemon were already up, and were glaring at them with fierce glints in their eerie scarlet eyes.

"You ready?" Dawn turned to him with a bright look in her eyes, and part of her hoped that he would want to team up. Because if they didn't, they were as good as dead.

She sub consciously grabbed his hand, not caring what he said. They were in this together now.

Paul opened his mouth to say something sharp, before he saw the hopeful look on her pretty face, and grudgingly realized she was right. He nodded.

"Ready."

* * *

Ash gaped, and boiled in anger as he recalled that hateful voice, the one who sold Pokemon for wealth, who abused them and took lives and shed blood to get what she desired. Fuming, he motioned his Staraptor to turn around; he well enough knew whose eyes he would look into- the pale gray eyes of Hunter J.

"I thought you worked alone, not for these losers," Drew seethed, pointing down at the Team Galactic members below. J smirked, her pearl white teeth showing. Pikachu, who had hung onto Ash's back for the ride, growled in fury at the one who had tried to sell him.

"I did," she said, each word making Ash even angrier; "But now I choose to help punish those who ruined my career." She smiled again, but spoke darkly, "Your lives end here, foolish brats." The Salamence she rode on roared, hungry for battle and fighting. They were so heated with rage for each other that they didn't see that Team Galactic was dangerously close to the building now.

Ash couldn't tame his rage, and let it flow out uncontrollably. "You wish, bitch! Staraptor, use Steel Wing!"

"Maia, use Draco Meteor!" Sara yelled, and Drew shouted, "Flygon, Crunch!"

Ash's giant bird closed in on her, its open, glowing wings shining in the moonlight. Flygon opened its jaws to show jagged teeth, and closed in on the other side.

J gave them a cool expression, and snapped her fingers. "Extremespeed. Go."

Salamence threw itself into the air so quickly that it only happened in a split second. Ash avoided running into Drew by swerving sideways, and looked up, glaring in hatred of J.

Yet, what took the gloating hunter completely by surprise were four enormous blue-green, fiery comets hurling towards her. They slammed into Salamence's back and sent them falling to the forest floor as the rest of the comets hurtled and burnt her with their explosions.

"Bull's-eye!" Sara yelled in triumph, and the others joined in until their faces changed to grimaces of sheer horror as J and the blue dragon appeared directly in front of her. J glared at her from under her black shades.

"Thought you got rid of me, eh? Don't take my Double Team for granted." She whispered, and took out her laser….pointing it directly at Sara. The brunette was completely frozen in shock, and Maia screeched and looked around nervously as the laser built power.

"Sara! Get out of the way!" Ash hollered, but she didn't hear him, and she didn't hear Drew yell, either. Her eyes were locked on the silver laser as it burned into her chest, feeling her insides grow cold as metal…

* * *

**Damn. Okay, Living in a make believe world, here is your prize. hands over ten dollar bill**

**Please review...PLEASEY PLEASY PLEASY no matter how sucky it is. I like reviews.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hiya. It's been a pretty long time, heheh. Yeah, I had a bit of a writer's block for a good while now...So...**

**Where was I? Oh right...**

**Paul and Dawn decided to band together to defeat Cyrus together; (after their kiss scene was ruined :D) Cynthia was seen as a prisoner in the Galactic hideout, where Reiji was taken; and Sara was hit by J's ray...what will happen next? Well, find out...**

**And please review. I might just get the next chapter up soon IF I get at least 5 for this chapter. I don't care if it sucked and you want to say "Go to hell, biatch" or whatever, just please leave a little bit of your thoguhts in the review section, please....:D  
**

* * *

Everything was black.

No sight, no touch, almost no senses. Sara drifted alone in the darkness, completely unaware of what was happening. She couldn't hear who was winning; Ash or J, and she couldn't tell who was doing what...she could only feel her own body, falling, falling, falling...

_Am I dead?_ She wondered somewhere in her mind. A memory suddenly appeared in her mind...the grey-haired hunter had shot her ray at her...it hit her directly, the shock of the retaliation made her freeze with fear...she would have been turned to stone, and transported back to J's ship...but if she was completely stone, how could she think and feel? Strange...

Suddenly she felt the air sweep past her body in a different direction, as though being lifted. What could it be? Her arms and head lay against a soft, leathery surface; it felt like...a Pokémon...

Again, she felt herself drifting off. Her senses were becoming duller as she began to lose her grasp. She could feel her mind slipping, and somehow knew she was going to die...

At least she died fighting...Dawn was in terrible danger, she now realised...Would J kill her? Would she kill Ash and Drew too? Or even her brother? Or anybody else...?

_Richie, I'm sorry,_ she whispered, in her head, for her lips were unmoving. _Dawn, I was your friend, but I... I failed...I tried to protect you; you and Paul...take...care..._

* * *

Paul panted, out of breath, his confidence slipping. His opponent wasn't as weak as he was three years ago, for once he was struggling to keep from losing despite the type advantage, and his mind was blank. He had no strategies left.

Dawn was looking just as tired and exasperated; her gaze was desperate as it searched the field, switched it back to her dear Pachirisu, and turned to search her tag partner's expression for some sort of order that could save them. As she turned to look at him, his eyes reflected the same hopelessness and desperation. The look was unusual on his face, but sincere as they turned back to face Cyrus. The wicked leader smirked arrogantly while his Weavile and Crobat laughed at the sight of Electivire and Pachirisu feeble, kneeling on the floor to recharge their strength.

"Had enough yet?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

The blue-haired girl couldn't suppress a few tears from leaking. She'd really had enough. This battle was no good, they were on the verge of losing and she couldn't do a thing. Strands of blue hairs fell across her face as she shook with quiet sobs. At least she would be dead; so Team Galactic could leave her friends alone, the and...And Paul...could be safe...

"We're not giving up."

The deep voice stunned her for a moment, and glanced up from her silent woes to see Paul glaring at Cyrus with determination and hatred.

The man was taken aback, but he still looked gleeful in his obvious victory. "So eager for death. Ah, well, it's so sad...that a precious life like yours could be wasted, to be used on an _ignorant child_," his voice was calm and soothing, until the last two words where he spat them out in Dawn's direction. The teenage girl winced.

Paul, however, was not scared...he frowned, in both anger and confusion. "Why are you so pressured for me to join your stupid team? And why are you hounding us to get to Dawn?"

Cyrus looked shocked at first, and then regained a furious expression, lined with rage. "Revenge. Your little pet destroyed everything I worked for in my entire life! I want to show her how not to intrude on our plans!" He then smiled maliciously. "But, you...you have great power, Shinji, I sensed it from your first day as a trainer..."

He was surprised. "You were watching me? Eight years ago?" Paul tried to think back to his old memories, trying to see if there was a blue-haired, old man watching him from some alley.

"No, my grunts were looking for Azelf when you started your journey at Veilstone. Yes, I sensed it. Power, beyond belief...and just what we were looking for in a Commander. When you returned, I kept a close eye..."

Paul listened to his story, frozen. Dawn looked just as shocked as he was, but she stayed away.

"...you displayed the same courage and strength that would render us invincible. Even here, you still show it. Imagine being so powerful that you rule the whole universe, with the Gods for your slaves..."

Suddenly the purple-haired teen stood still, as pictures flashed before his eyes. The strongest trainer on the planet, with anything he ever dreamed his for the taking; he was momentarily struck with desire for it. His eyes, closed, picturing it again...Could this be his real destiny?

"Paul! Wait!"

_Huh?_

_Don't listen to him...he's trying to get you...to hurt the only thing that means the world..._

"Paul, please don't go!"

His eyes snapped open. In shock, he realised that he had subconsciously taken three steps towards Cyrus, who was watching him greedily. Dawn was standing behind him, with sparkling tears shimmering at the corners of her crystal eyes.

"Don't go...don't go with him, please, don't leave me...!" She pleaded; her eyes wet and glazed over from fallen tears.

_Sure, you get everything you crave for...all besides the one that won't exist in your chosen path...Are you ready to lose your friend for humanity's death?_

The Galactic leader looked pleased when he saw no reaction on the boy's face. He had chosen well...gesturing to his Weavile and Crobat, ready to battle, he turned back to Paul, with a wide smirk.

"So, you've made your choice?"

The teen was silent. He didn't know; he just glanced from the Boss back to Dawn, torn. Cyrus noticed his hesitation, and his confident smile faltered, distorting into a scowl of fury as Paul began to step away from him back to the girl.

"Is that your path, then?" He growled, looking at the both of them. "Well, it's about to end..."

He raised his head and snapped as his Pokémon sank into crouches, and opened their mouths to launch an attack. Dawn whimpered in fear, and grabbed onto her partner's arm for support. Paul stared at the readying Hyper Beams with his dark eyes wide, his face blank but his mouth slightly open as if he was too stunned to move.

"Paul, c'mon, we have to move!" She whispered into his ear, but he didn't seem to hear her. His gaze was fixed on the growing balls of flaming energy.

"Finish them!" Cyrus shouted, and pointed straight towards the couple. The beams finished powering up, and shot straight towards them, as Dawn let out a long, bloodcurdling scream, the familiar one that Paul once heard in his dream...

Once hearing the shriek, he glared straight up, his face contorted with anger. "N-no...."

She looked up; saw his ferocious look, and her jaw dropped as he repeated more strongly, "NOOOOOOO!!!" The drawn out scream wasn't his, it was twisted, echoed by a deep snarl...

She stepped back with a gasp as his body suddenly felt like a violent flame to her pale skin, and he crouched into an animal-like battle position, his teeth bared. A purple aura began coming off his skin, and the girl thought she saw his black eyes burn red, which were suddenly hollowed out and black. The ominous light around him began to take form in to some sort of dragon creature; it grew spreading wings, fangs, a long, thick neck, a swinging tail... "Paul's" hands balled up into fists as he threw his head back and let out a mighty roar, accompanied by the dragon's roars, as his silky hair flew in all directions.

The sand around him flew up into a dusty circle, and Dawn ran back into a corner near the trees in fear of getting hurt by the red-hot pink light. The Hyper Beams were coming on fast, but he was out of control...the terror of the whole situation muted her, and she was too frozen call out a warning. Her hands twisted in worry. Cyrus was watching him with an astonished look, as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing, but there was a bit of hunger in his icy irises.

She couldn't hold back anymore—she began to scream at the top of her lungs. Paul wasn't himself anymore, as crazy as it sounded, someone was possessing him and he was about to die as the beams were two seconds from reaching him—

Then something happened.

The lasers never reached their mark. As soon as the double rays were just a few inches from his body, a glowing violet dome surrounded him, swirling with changing colours. The beams hit the shield, but they seemed to split up as soon as they hit the surface. The screen of light rippled at the force of the attack. Dawn stood there, her blue eyes wide, and her head felt light as if she was going to faint any moment.

Weavile and Crobat stopped their attacks once they realised it was no good, but they stood still, unable to move because of the amount of energy used up. Paul seemed to give a nasty grin, and he raised his hands out of their tight fists and faced the palms out towards the Galactic boss and his Pokémon. He stretched his arms out as though to push out, and the shield immediately followed his command. It pushed out from him, slammed into the two, who then crashed into Cyrus and sent them falling to the ground at the far end of the clearing. Cyrus, in his rage, got up second after to face Paul but stopped once he saw him.

"GET......AWAY......FROM.....HER....." Paul hissed, in the same unfamiliar voice. Then he growled and let out another yell as his eyes glowed.

The face of the man was twisted. He seemed to realise he didn't have the upper hand anymore, that he was the one who would lose the fight. He began to back away into the trees, as he pulled out a Pokeball out of his pocket and turned back to the two teens.

"This isn't over," he grumbled.

The red-eyed demon-Paul responded with another fearsome roar.

Cyrus gave a small start, and then scowled. He threw his Pokeball into the night air, sending out his Honchcrow; he called out an order, the Bird swooped down; in a flash he was gone, just a soaring dot in the distance.

Paul stared at the dot, still crouched and bristling, until it disappeared out of sight. Now that the danger was gone, he relaxed out of his stiff battle position, the light screen shattered and the dragon formed back into a soft pink aura and faded. His red, hollow eyes returned to their original black colour surrounded by white, not black, but then they became weary and rolled into his head.

Dawn rushed up with a small cry and put out her small arms to catch him as he stumbled back on weak legs. Her breath was ragged and uneven as she looked down at Paul, who seemed to be unconscious. What had he just done? She'd never heard of that sort of thing happening with a human being before, not even in the stories about the past she'd heard. And the dragon...it looked so familiar, so did his eyes...

"Gyyyuuuu!!"

Dawn jumped back as she heard a whine from above, and she raised her head, trembling. She sighed in relief at the sight of a yellow, plump dragon getting ready to land, looking down on her with an impish smile.

"It's a Dragonite!" She whispered in shock, but somehow she knew from its friendly look that it was someone who sent for her. But she had no time for thanks now...if Cyrus was with them here just now, there was no telling what him and his goons could be doing in the ball...

"Can you take us to the Ribbon Syndicate's grand ball?" She asked the amiable creature, trying to keep her voice calm when it was hard to get the words out because she was trembling so hard. The Dragonite nodded with another soft whine and lowered its head to let Dawn on its back. She gave a small groan as she had to lift Paul's unmoving weight, but she couldn't just leave him there on the ground.

As she boarded the dragon, she noticed something that was patched with bronze lying down ahead of her. She looked past the wings, curious and let out a whimper of surprise; the strange object in front of her was a human! A girl by the looks of it, with her head, arms, back and feet frozen in brown metal. Hesitantly she reached a few lengths, her hands shaking, turned over the girls face—and nearly fell off into the distance below from her recoil. Sara's face looked up at her, eyes closed and out cold. Her skin was as pale as a sheet, and her cheek was covered in the same metal. With a pang of sadness she realised that this must be Sara's Dragonite, and she had come looking for her. It looked like Team Galactic had caught her on the way.

She was a few minutes away from the building now. She drew in a deep breath, trying to summon her courage as she looked from Sara to Paul, and thinking of the many others who could get hurt. Cyrus was going to pay.

* * *

May sat silently in the corner with an unfinished drink in her hand, fiddling with the hem of her dress with a sigh every few minutes as people danced and laughed around her, having the time of their lives. Her forehead was creased in worry and for good reason too. Every time she closed her eyes to let the music drown out her thoughts, she only saw one face; Drew's. How long had it been? She took a glance at the huge clock on the upper walls of the hall. One hour.

She grabbed her hands tightly and wrung them in concern and grief, not even noticing as Misty approached.

"May?" She asked, her green eyes soft. "Are you all right?"

The brunette nodded weakly, unable to look up from her lap. But Misty took one of her hands from her and held it in comfort.

"It's okay," she said gently, as her friend's chest began heaving with sobs. "I'm worried too."

May stopped sobbing and looked at the redhead. It was true; she had a look of misery on her face, and her eyes occasionally strayed to the door as if waiting for someone to come back, but she had a hint of confidence in her, as though she was certain that he would come back for her. Somewhere, she wondered how long Misty would wait for Ash to come back. Her determination made her feel a little better, and she raised her head and gave a reassuring smile.

"That's the spirit," Misty told her, relieved, but then she turned her head around. "Huh?"

May was baffled for a moment, but then grasped that the ground was shaking underneath her and the walls were cracking. People were muttering, girls were screaming in fear but the noises were drowned out by the loud cracking, but somehow she heard Brock's voice call out to her loud and clear.

"May! Misty!" He yelled, waving his hands. "We have to get out of here, something's wrong and...COVER YOUR HEAD!!"

The two girls screamed loudly as they ducked and covered their heads, moving out of the way, and the other guests copied them while a huge part of the roof cracked off and fell right where they were standing. May fell to her knees and all she could see was the ground. Plane and dragon shaped shadows were crossing over the shaft of moonlight, and the bawling continued to echo in her ears, but she didn't dare look up. Then her blood ran cold as she heard a familiar, menacing voice call out coldly from above,

"Galactic, Attack!!!"

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi!!! I need to update faster, man Dx I've been really busy lately, schoolwork twice as hard....it's really sucky. I'm sad, too...**

**But anyway, enjoy, becuz I have a little gift for the Ikarishippers. **

**Enjoy!!  
**

* * *

May felt like the room was spinning around her. A wave of fear washed over as she heard Commander Saturn's cold command, but her legs were frozen, and her arms tingled as they tried to move but were immobile. The shadows began to grow larger in number, grey planes moving against the smooth white ballroom floor, and she heard something coming towards her as a dark shadow grew bigger from above...

"MAY! Look out!!"

Suddenly her stillness wavered, and she let out a high pitched scream at the top of her lungs. She tried to get up from the hard ground as a roar filled the room, she shut her eyes, waiting for the pain...but it never came. The breath whooshed out of her as she was then snatched aside, and when she opened her tightly closed eyelids she was in Misty's pale arms, who had knocked her out of the way. Her eyes grew enormous as they viewed the huge cat in front of them, spotted grey, with curled whiskers and a vicious, greedy look in its eyes. May took a small moment to assess what was happening around her.

Ropes were hanging through the big hole in the roof which showed the pitch black sky dotted with the faint stars, but the lights were blocked out by the blindingly bright Hyper Beams that were being shot everywhere. She felt dizzy as she whipped her head from side to side frantically, trying to find her friends, but her head spun as she could see no one except for her best friend. She tried to distinguish their voices, commanding their Pokémon or anything like that; it was impossible; even if they were shouting for her, their voices were drowned out by shrieks and yells by other panicking guests, and the loud explosions as the fight continued.

She wished she could just wake up from her nightmare, for everything around her was moving too fast, too sudden. All she wanted was to spend a little happy time with her friends that she loved so much. Now they were all going to die. How could it have turned upside down in an hour or less?

All this, and she was barely aware that she was still next to Misty, and in front of her was the powerful Purugly and her master. The grunt raised a hand and moved one finger, beckoning for a fight.

The red head, seeing the danger, tucked her hand behind her dress and pulled out a greenish Pokeball. May watched it timidly, and Misty noticed.

"I brought this just in case," She whispered, and her friendly smile morphed into a competitive scowl as her green eyes met the grunt's again. Hissing, she tossed it into the air, shouting out,

"Corsola, I choose you!"

The white beams shot out, forming into a jagged pink figure splashed with blue. It wasn't the naive and rash Pokémon it has been in its youth; years or experienced battling scarred its glittering horns and it was just as hardened as its trainer. The brunette could sense its power, and Misty had not become an official Gym Leader for nothing...but the massive size of the Purugly haunted her. Would they make it out alive...?

"Only if you help."

Her voice startled her, Misty had answered her question as if reading her mind. Still, she didn't look at her, she asked without looking, "Will you help me?"

Stunned for a moment by all the sudden attacks, she was unable to speak until something flashed across her vision, through her mind. A pair of deep green eyes. Sweating, fearful, hopeless, just like hers. But they still gleamed with determination and hope.

Don't give up, something whispered inside her. Never give up hope.

Suddenly her instincts pulled her above the surface of the fear and pain, the confusion was gone, and all she could sense was the fierce will to keep fighting. All she could see, all to inspire her, were only those eyes. She felt the warmth of renewed strength spread through her muscles as she tensed, ready to for war.

"Ready?" Misty mouthed, grinning to see her friend at her senses.

May slipped into a crouch, ready to throw her Pokeball as she reached behind and pulled out Glaceon's.

"Ready!"

* * *

A dark fog blocked his sight, he tried to see beyond the endless murk but his eyes were dull, and weary, it was hard keeping them open. He heard distant screaming, flesh tearing, blood spilling, cries of Pokémon...he tried to lift an arm to call out to them, but a sharp pain crept up his veins like blazing fire, and he winced.

In his deep sleep, all his arm did was twitch the slightest.

Trembling under the intense pain, he couldn't see the light shining above him, glittering in pink, blue and yellow beams, temporarily lighting up the deep fog. It was only until they were directly in front his face that he realised they were there, but he was temporarily blinded by the light. However, he could make out three familiar silhouettes...Then, a musical, melodious voice poured out of the pink light...

"_The darkness will rise again and fall,_

_All shining gems will become one,_

_Diamond and Pearl will unite together,_

_Light will shine through the bloody darkness..._

_As the Aura Guardian shows the way._

_The prince of Sinnoh shall be sacrificed_

_As the Spring Land sings.... 'there is peace'..."_

Paul held up his hand in front his face, shielding himself from the bright light, until he saw something move beyond the light, out in the fog. It looked like it was smiling, smirking with joy or something like it.

He carefully moved his hand away and took a cautious step forward, he seemed to recognise something about her. Pink eyes, long pink hair, fluffy clothes and the same sly smirk. The only thing he didn't know about her was her name, and she was glowing in a faint luminosity, like a moon. What the heck was she doing there? Hesitantly, he opened his mouth to call out a challenge, when suddenly-

Something dark, cackling loudly, swooped down and snatched her away, and she let out a long, drawn out screech. Suddenly the whole area became dark and gloomy, and then he couldn't see, hear, smell, feel anything...besides his own pain.

It was so intense, his body was completely paralyzed as his knees buckled underneath his and his light body fell to the ground. The hurt increased, spreading inside him like a fire, burning him to dust....

"Paul? You okay?"

The foggy scene waned, and the fire began to ebb away as he blinked his eyes open and found himself again staring into Dawn's beautiful, sapphire eyes.

His own shocked and agonized expression at what he just witnessed hardened at once; he couldn't let her see any sign of weakness. He glared up at the girl and grunted, not wanting to say anything. She could take it for whatever she liked, as long as she stopped hovering over him like a hen.

Dawn looked slightly annoyed for the smallest second, but it was quickly overcome by her anxiety and love for him, shining in her eyes. "You were out for a long time," she told him quietly.

Out? Then he remembered.

Cyrus!

"Holy crap!" He sat straight up and looked around him frantically, trying to remember when exactly he blacked. Was Cyrus still battling? Did his attacks hit? But Dawn was with him...or was he dead, with Dawn?

He frowned. It wasn't what he expected. He was expecting to see himself in locked bars or about to be tortured to death. Instead he was floating towards the Ribbon Syndicate on a smiling Dragonite, while he was seeing poofs of smoke and flame erupting from the large ballroom's roof.

This time, he really was confused. He blinked. "Hm...where am I?"

The blue-haired girl next to him looked slightly shaky and nervous next to him, looking at him like if he was a time bomb, about to explode. What was she scared for?

He tried to find out the reason for why he was here, instead of a corpse rotting in the forest. The last he could look back on was Dawn's bony fingers trembling against his arm, while two Hyper Beams came towards them head-on...

She began in a shaky voice. "You-you, er...." she seemed to not want to say something, but she went on anyway. "You...kinda, fought them off, and...then...Sara's Dragonite came and saved us."

"Fought them off? I was out cold, stupid."

Her whole body seemed to tremble as if she was going to cry, and she had a peculiar expression...what was wrong? He looked over his body. The borrowed tuxedo was slightly dirty, a lot of dust was on it and his hair was untidy and ruffled, but other than that all seemed fine. Still, she looked like she was going to jump off Dragonite and make a run for it. Speaking of Dragonite...

He stroked the leathery surface. "So Sara has a Dragonite, huh? Remind me to ask her for a battle later." He felt the tough muscles under the skin, and knew it would be a challenge. Maybe after a good battle he could just forget.

Dawn jumped again, but now her face was drooping with sorrow. "That...that might not be possible, Paul," she whispered.

"Why?"

She drew in a deep breath, and jerked her head over her shoulder, squeezing her eyes tightly. He looked over, and his mouth dropped open at the sight of the girl now covered in spots of bronze, and one half of her face was sleeping, the other was wide awake and shocked.

His lips pressed tightly in a grim look. "What happened to her?" he asked. He felt a little disgruntled that Dawn knew everything that happened, while he had to drag everything out of her because he had been asleep the whole time.

"I...I don't know," she admitted, looking faint. "Dragonite came for us...but when I climbed on, I found her like this." She looked down for a moment, but then suddenly her head jerked towards the east.

"Look there!" She gasped.

He looked out in the direction she was pointing, and he saw what was happening. On the roof of the Ribbon Syndicate, there were several familiar helicopters flying about, and many people clad in white were firing Pokémon attacks at the walls. He felt a flood of rage when he saw the tiny yellow "G" logo on the helicopters' sides.

"Galactic!" He hissed. "They wanted us, they don't have us, but kill anyway!" And the fury in his voice was clear.

He didn't notice until then that Dawn was shrinking away from him, her expression guarded and scared. She looked him straight in the eyes, but her hands were raised defensively in front of her.

"What is the matter with you?" he whispered, looking almost angry.

"I....I...." Dawn trembled and her chest heaved with sobs, and Paul just stared. "Paul...you don't remember what happened?"

"What happened?" He growled anxiously, leaning forward until he loomed over her.

"I...I should explain..." Dawn stammered, her eyes never leaving his face. "Um, Dragonite....May I borrow your claws?"

The yellow dragons let out an impish grunt and raised one of its small hands towards Dawn. The blue haired girl took it and pushed it in front of Paul.

"Now do you see?" She asked.

The purple haired teen just stared wide-eyed at the reflection on the polished claw.

His hair was the same, and his face looked fine too...except for the blue lines jutting out from his cheek in an arrow form, and his eyes- his black eyes which could glare so menacingly, looked even more frightening in bright red. Even worse, the white around it has hollowed out into black.

He raised one hand and traced the glowing arrows running from the back of his neck to the middle of his cheek. Then he touched the eyelid of his new...weird eyes.

"....Damn..." Was all he could say.

"You...started to glow pink, then you were so warm...I could barely touch you, I was gonna get burnt. SO I ran a little distance away...then you just...I dunno, kinda exploded out this big shield thingy! It was really scary...I couldn't help screaming..."

Paul wasn't really listening to her, he was still stunned by his new appearance; but he did remember her scream...it was familiar...

"...And then when Weavile and Crobat launched their attacks, you just sent out your shield and....BOOM! They just fell back! You were like, roaring and...Cyrus just...he...he flew away, and...." She was sobbing now, "And then Dragonite came and took us up, you fell into a coma, and then...I found...." She put her head in her hands and sobbed harder than he had ever heard, and he let out a long sigh.

He had caused her so much worry.

If he never went outside and be the jerk he was, she would have been safe inside. Then he wouldn't have been mutated and wouldn't have Dawn crying her heart out over him. She didn't even need to meet him; otherwise she could have stayed out of his rash behaviour and would have gone on with her life.

He closed his eyes, listening to her whimpers. The scene by the pond, before the Galactic boss had interrupted them, was still fresh in his mind. He'd broken her with words and criticism, over and over again, and yet she still wanted to be with him. And now they couldn't leave and break each other, or they would either die from murder or die from agony. The years gave them such an unbreakable bond...

"Dawn."

The girl stopped blubbering and looked up at Shinji, her eyes glazed and wet.

Shinji stared back, thinking about what he was about to do. Her name sounded so strange in his voice; he realised he'd barely ever said it before. If he could make her happy...

Very gently, he cupped her wet face in his palm, with deliberate slowness, and lowered his lips to hers.

Dawn was jolted out of her tears as a warm feeling spread through her. Could this really be happening...? He slid his hand to her back, holding her tight as his lips moved against hers...she found his hand and held it in hers, and wrapped the other around his neck.

After a few minutes, he broke off and stroked her cheek, wiping away her tears. Dawn, entranced by the moment, buried her face in his chest. For a while either of them said nothing, until Paul muttered, "We'll find a way out of this." She felt a weak thrill go though her when he said _We_, but she knew he was talking both to her and to himself.

All of a sudden, Dragonite growled. Both of them raised their heads and saw that it was time to land off. As the dragon Pokémon lowered itself to the ground, the girl glanced at her friend fearfully. Would they see each other after this? She would never, ever forgive herself if Paul had to die to protect her.

The purple haired boy jumped off agilely from the dragon's back, and held out his arms for Dawn to jump off. He turned away grimacing when her skirt flew up in his face, but regained his composure immediately.

"Come on," she whispered, with a frantic edge to her voice, "They're in trouble! Ohh, this is all my fault..."

The boy gave her a light peck on the lips and caressed her cheek. "They'll be fine," he soothed her hysteria, "they can take care of themselves."

Without another word, he rushed off toward the explosions, which were blooming all about the arena, dragging Dawn with him. The said girl panted as gruesome thoughts erupted in her mind...May, slashed open by Purugly...Ash, cut all over and bleeding to death under the wings of Golbat...

As they burst into the scene, the first sight she saw was blood. A lot of it. Pokémon fought like wildcats, clawing and biting in whirlwinds of fur, while their trainers struggled to stay alive in all the mayhem. She gasped as she stepped in a pool of blood by her feet.

Paul stood there like a statue as his blood ran cold. The fighting...the blood...he had seen it all before.

This was what he saw in his dream.

His nightmare...was now reality.

Suddenly someone crashed into the two of them, screaming at the top of their lungs. Then the man stopped and looked at them in confusion."Dawn? Paul?"

Dawn stood there stunned for a while, until she recognised the face in front of her. "Gary!" she breathed with relief.

Gary looked glad to see her safe for a second, then his expression sharpened into fear. "I don't know how you got back, but...You have to help me. Richie's stuck in there...near the bathroom! I heard him yell, and Casey just disappeared after him...I'm trying to get through, but there's fighting everywhere... I can't..."

Then a high keen rose above the crowd, ringing over and over again in the blue-hair's ears, and her sapphire eyes popped wide with shock. She recognised that voice, and knew what it meant.

"NO!"

* * *

**It's an apology for the Cyrus-interruption-stunt. I made them kiss. I don't really have any experience describing kisses...I have no idea what to put for it. Sorry about it. -ahem- um, er, maybe you'll get a better description in a few years? T.T" Forgive me. Please? And review while you're at it?**

**I left the last part unexplained. What happens next? **

**Um. R&R. Please. Or I'll shoot ya. And extend the next update date. **


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